Rogue
by GinjaNinja1205
Summary: With the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance, there is only one crew that can get the job done. Lucas Graham is a man trying to make amends for a shady past. Commander Shepard is a man battling the demons in his past as he leads his unorthodox Normandy crew in a perilous hunt for a Spectre that has gone Rogue. Rated M for strong language, graphic content, and sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

**HELLO ALL xD THANKS FOR SHOWING INTEREST IN MY STORY! THIS IS MY PRIDE AND JOY RIGHT NOW, SO I HOPE YOU ALL REALLY LIKE IT. FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK LowWren FOR BEING A MAJOR INSPIRATION FOR THIS STORY. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ EITHER OF HER STORIES YET, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU GO CHECK THEM OUT. THEY'RE BOTH MASS EFFECT STORIES, THE FIRST IS** _ **SHELL**_ **AND THE ONE SHE IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON IS** _ **DESCENT**_ **. THEY ARE VERY ENGROSSING STORIES AND FANTASTICALLY WRITTEN, SO GO READ THEM! PS- LowWren, I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND THE SHOUTOUT xD**

 **OKAY, SO THIS STORY WILL COVER THE EVENTS OF MASS EFFECT 1, INCLUDING THE** _ **BRING DOWN THE SKY**_ **DLC. A LOT OF THE DIALOGUE WILL BE THE SAME AS IN THE GAME, BUT WITH A SLIGHT TWIST. THE SHEPARD BEING USED IN THIS STORY IS MY PERSONAL MALESHEP, WITH THE COLONIST BACKGROUND AND THE SOLE SURVIVOR SERVICE HISTORY. IF YOU'RE CURIOUS WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE, CHECK OUT THE COVER. PS-SORRY FOR THE SHITTY QUALITY OF HIS PIC, I TOOK IT ON MY IPOD FROM MY TV. ALSO, WHEN YOU CHECK OUT THE COVER YOU MAY NOTICE THAT THE DUDE ON THE BOTTOM LEFT IS THE CHARACTER MODEL FOR THE PC IN THE NEXT MASS EFFECT. I USED HIM BECAUSE HE IS PRETTY MUCH DEAD ON WHAT I IMAGINED LUCAS TO LOOK LIKE. SO HE'S THERE FOR VISUAL REFERENCE AS WELL.**

 **IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU READ, PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW. IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU READ, YOU CAN TELL ME THAT TOO! ANY PRAISE OR CRITICISM WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED; I'M WRITING THIS FOR YOU GUYS AS MUCH AS MYSELF. I WILL TRY TO POST UPDATES EVERY WEEK, BUT I MAY END UP POSTING EVERY TWO WEEKS. IT SHOULD NEVER TAKE ME LONGER THAN THAT. BUT YOU KNOW, LIFE, AND SHIT HAPPENS, SO YEAH. NO PROMISES.**

 **WARNING- THERE WILL BE PARTS OF THIS STORY LATER ON THAT WILL DISPLAY ADULT CONTENT. I WILL BE SURE TO PUT A WARNING AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER THAT CONTAINS IT, SO READ FORTH AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. I WON'T TELL YOU NOT TO READ IF YOU AREN'T 18, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T HANDLE. IT'S NOT MY JOB TO TELL YOU HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE. WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY, BRO xD**

 ****DISCLAIMER** I DO NOT OWN MASS EFFECT OR BIOWARE OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS THERIN. I DO, HOWEVER, OWN MY OC. IF YOU WANT TO USE HIM FOR YOURSELF, PLEASE ASK FIRST. THANKS xD**

 **FUTURE A/N WILL NEVER BE THIS LONG. A LOT OF THE TIME, I PROBABLY WON'T EVEN HAVE AN A/N. SORRY FOR THIS ONE, BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE SAID. AND I APPRECIATE THOSE OF YOU WHO TOOK THE TIME TO ACTUALLY READ THIS WHOLE THING INSTEAD OF SKIPPING AHEAD TO THE STORY. I WOULDN'T PUT AN A/N HERE IF IT WASN'T IMPORTANT ^_^**

 **WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I PRESENT TO YOU MY BABY ^_^ ENJOY!**

 _ **ROGUE**_

I stepped off of the shuttle, my Alliance issue duffle bag thrown over my shoulder. I looked around the landing pad, taking in my new home and my very first duty station with the Alliance. The colony itself looks cozy, and the surrounding countryside is beautiful, from what I could see when we flew in.

As the shuttle flew away behind me, an officer in Alliance dress blues walked up to me and I snapped off a crisp salute. "Sir, Private First Class Lucas Graham, reporting for duty."

"At ease private." I dropped the salute as he extended his hand, and I shook it firmly. "Welcome to Eden Prime, Graham. I'm Commander Woods, commander of the 212."

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir." I offered politely. He grunted in response.

"Listen, I don't know whose cheerios you pissed in to get the Dog Squad as your first assignment, but if you're looking for an easy ride then you are definitely going to be disappointed. The Dog Squad is my toughest division, and command runs a tight ship."

"Yes sir, I've heard that. But with all due respect, I didn't join the Alliance to sit on my ass and pick my nose all day." That earned a chuckle from the Commander.

"Come on, tough guy. Let's go meet your new squad." I threw my bag back over my shoulder and followed the commander off the landing pad and further into the colony. It seemed to be a normal colony, there were children playing and laughing in the outdoors and there were women standing outside of their homes gossiping away. _Christ, it's like I never left home._

He led me into a building near the perimeter of the colony that I assumed were the barracks, and when we walked in everybody stopped what they were doing and snapped to attention. Commander Woods called a somewhat irritated 'at ease', and everyone seemed to go on about their business. The few exceptions were a group of people that had been sitting around a table in the center of the room, about five people, that walked over to us instead of going back to whatever they were doing.

"Alright Dog Squad, this is your newest recruit. I'll leave the introductions up to you, and…" his voice trailed off as he looked around the room. "Where the hell is Williams?"

"She went for a quick run, sir; should be back shortly." One of the men with short blonde hair spoke up, almost too quickly. Commander Woods muttered something under his breath and shook his head.

"Fine, I'll leave you all to it then." With that, he turned on his heel and exited the building, leaving all eyes on me. The same blonde haired man that spoke earlier stepped forward and shook my hand.

"Alright, Rookie, time for some introductions. First of all, I'm Sergeant Donkey. I'm the, uh… second in command of the Dog Squad. First is Chief Williams, you'll meet her soon enough." He turns and begins to introduce the rest of the squad. First he gestures to the dark skinned man to our left. "That's Specialist Jenner, he's our comm specialist." He moves over to introduce a slightly older light skinned man with obviously dyed red hair, as the hair on his face was a salt-n-pepper color. "That's Serviceman Third Class Rasputin. He's our sniper."

He moves on to the only female in the squad, who is light skinned with dark hair that is chopped off just below her ears. "That's Private First Class Pennyloafer. She's our medic." Finally he turned to the last man, who was built about like me with his thick muscle mass. He had some stubble on his face and short brown hair. "And last but certainly not least, we have Specialist Bates. He's our heavy hitter, you know with grenades and heavy weapons and all that." Yeah, that makes sense. Jenner and Pennyloafer grinned at me and waved at their introductions, while Rasputin just grunted and gave me a curt nod. Bates moved forward and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Welcome to Dog Squad rookie, the best damn bunch of marines on this rock!" his statement earned enthusiastic whoops from the others.

"Right, good to meet you all, I'm PFC Graham." I exchanged a handshake with all my new squad mates and they all returned to the center table, save for Sgt. Donkey. He turned back to me and folded his arms over his chest.

"Alright rookie, few ground rules; first off, everyone pulls their own weight around here. You do your part, and we'll all get along just fine. Second, the Dog Squad is the best damn bunch of marines on this rock. And we work damn hard to stay that way, so I really hope that you aren't expecting this to be easy. And lastly, when you meet Chief Williams you're probably going to start drooling, as she is definitely… well, you'll see. My point is, don't get any ideas. Ash is mine, you got that?"

"She's yours?" I furrowed my brow. "Aren't there rules against fraternization in the Alliance?" he looked at me for a long moment before bursting out laughing.

"Nobody takes that too seriously around here, save for Woody. And as far as her being mine, well… it's a work in progress." I noticed a bit of red creep into his cheeks.

"So does she always go for runs at this time?"

"No not usually, but she's taking Marley's discharge pretty hard. Marley is the guy you're replacing, by the way. Ash doesn't like to lose anyone, no matter the reason." He looked at me for a moment as if trying to decide whether to tell me something. Finally, he sighs. "She's not a fan of newbies, either. So if she's a little standoffish towards you, don't take it personally. She'll warm up eventually."

"What happened to Marley?" I asked. He unfolded his arms and glanced around the room before taking a step closer to me.

"The Admiralty Board charged him with drinking on duty and then murdering one of the colonists. But they're full of shit, the damn politicians. We were all off duty, and we were all drinking. Then one of the colonists came up starting trouble with Marley. He threw the first punch, and Marley was just defending himself. He just took it a little too far."

"Damn, that's rough." I shook my head. _And that's why I don't drink._

"Yeah it is. Hey listen, it would be wise not to bring this up to anyone, especially Ash. We're all still sore from it, but she's taking it especially hard."

"Got it. So what's the best way to get on her good side? Just follow orders or be an ass kisser?" I said, half joking.

"If I wanted my ass kissed rookie, I'd ask Donk." A voice from the door made me jump. Sgt. Donkey just plastered a boyish grin on his face and practically drooled in the direction of the voice, and I turned. The woman that I presumed to be Chief Williams was standing in the doorway, dark hair plastered to the sides of her face with sweat. She was still breathing hard, evidently having just finished her run. I had to admit, Sgt. Donkey (or Donk, as she called him) wasn't exaggerating about her. She was definitely a strikingly attractive woman, without giving conscious effort to try and be. The way her workout clothes hugged her figure was enough to make any man take notice. She had her hands on her hips and she was eyeing me curiously.

"If that's an order Chief, I'd be obligated to do so." She rolled her eyes at him and walked over to me, folding her arms under her chest and slowly circling around me. I shifted uncomfortably as she appraised me and ran my hand through my hair. Finally she stopped in front of me, but continued to look me up and down, causing me to shift my weight again. I could feel the heat beginning to rise in my cheeks as her eyes moved over me. They lingered briefly on my right arm, and I resisted the urge to try and pull my sleeve further down my arm to cover my tattoo.

"Well, you're clearly in good shape so you shouldn't have any problems keeping up with us physically." Her espresso eyes finally met my steel grey. "But from what I understand, this is your first duty station right?" I nodded and tried to swallow past the lump in my throat as her eyes narrowed. "Well they picked a hell of a unit to stick you in. This isn't going to be a cake walk, and…"

'All due respect ma'am," I cut her off, earning a raised eyebrow from her. "I've been told since the day I received my orders what kind of squad this is, and what a hard-ass you are. I know this is going to be difficult, I never expected it to be easy. But I'll tell you the same thing I told the Commander. I didn't join the Alliance to sit on my ass and pick my nose." She glared at me, and despite the strong urge to look away, I met her gaze with equal intensity. After a moment she finally nodded.

"Good to know you're willing to work for it. And you've definitely got balls." She took a step closer to me and her eyes narrowed again. "But if you ever interrupt me again, I'll tear them from between your legs and shove them down your throat. Are we clear?"

I bit my tongue to resist giving her some snide remark, remembering she was my superior. "Crystal." I settled for instead.

"Good. Now as I'm sure you've already guessed, I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."

"And as I'm sure _you've_ already guessed I'm Private First Class Lucas Graham." Her eyes narrowed again at my lack of formality, and just like before I met her gaze equally.

"I'm going to hit the showers." She pushed past me towards the latrines, and from the corner of my eye I saw Donk open his mouth to say something, but before he had the chance she called over her shoulder, "And no, Donk, that wasn't an invitation." He closed his mouth again and smirked at her retreating back. Once she was in the latrine, he turned back to me.

"You got a death wish or something rookie?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ash takes her command very seriously. She kind of has to, with all the business with her granddad. She doesn't much care for when her command is challenged." He shook his head at me and folded his arms over his chest again.

"I wasn't challenging her command. And what was that about her grandfather?" his brow arched at my question.

"Nobody told you?" when I shook my head, he scoffed. "That figures. Ashley is the granddaughter of General Williams, commander of the Shanxi during the First Contact War." Realization hit me at his words, and I mentally kicked myself for not making the connection earlier.

"The first human to ever surrender to an alien race," I recalled. Donk nodded. "That's bullshit, General Williams did the right thing then, and even so Chief Williams shouldn't have to pay for her grandfather's actions." Donk's brow shot up again.

"Damn rookie, maybe you should tell her that sometime. It might soften her up a bit towards you." He grinned and clapped me on the shoulder. "Now grab your bag and I'll show you to your rack." 

* * *

Shepard stirred at the sound of someone knocking on his cabin door. He groaned and slowly sat up in his bed, the pounding in his head growing more intense with every movement.

"Shepard, it's Anderson." The familiar voice filled Shepard's small cabin, muffled by the door. He pulled out his omni-tool and unlocked his door, allowing the man on the other side to enter.

"Captain, what can I do for you?" Shepard asked through the haze of sleep and what was left of the previous night's activities.

"Enjoying your time off, I see." Anderson shook his head and chuckled, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back against the far wall across from Shepard.

"Yes sir. Don't get me wrong, the Tokyo is great, but Arcturus offers a slightly more…" he tried to find the right word as he slowly rose to his feet. "Relaxing atmosphere."

"Clearly," Anderson chuckled again. "Listen Shepard, there's something I want to talk to you about. There's this sort of secret project that the Alliance is working on with the turian hierarchy. It's still a few years from completion, but they're already putting together dossiers for the crew."

"The crew? Is it a ship?"

"Yes. It is a ship that I will be in command of, and I want you to be my XO."

"Anderson, I…" the Captain held up a hand to cut him off.

"I know that this position was supposed to be your last command position for a while, but I need only the best crew the Alliance has to offer for this. I need you, Shepard." The men were silent for a long moment as Shepard rubbed the back of his neck, contemplating his answer. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"Fine, I'll be your XO. What's the project?" Anderson straightened and smiled smugly at Shepard.

"Project _Normandy_."


	2. Chapter 2

**HEY GUYS, THANKS FOR ALL THE FOLLOWS, FAVS, AND REVIEWS xD I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE SHOUTOUT TO Fedora411 FOR BEING THE FIRST ONE TO FOLLOW, FAVORITE, AND REVIEW MY FIC. YOU'RE AWESOME ^_^**

 **ANYWAY, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER! ENJOY xD**

I stepped into the barracks with Donk and Bates, rolling my shoulder from the day spent on the range. I immediately spotted Chief Williams in the corner of the room, having an animated conversation with another female soldier. I think her name was Bhatia, if I remember correctly. I see the two of them together often; they must be close friends. I've only spoken to her a few times, but she seemed like a pretty nice lady. Hell, almost everyone in the 212 was friendly enough.

"Damn Graham, where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?" Bates asked, stepping between me and Donk. I had hit nearly every target with my newly issued Avenger assault rifle, missing only one because Donk decided to kick my foot right before I pulled the trigger, sending the shot sailing past the target's left ear. "You could probably outshoot Donk here; and he's the best shot on the squad."

"Yeah, yeah don't push it Bates. I could outshoot this rookie any given day of the week." Donk sank into a chair and threw his feet up on the table in the center of the room, which apparently the Dog Squad had claimed. The barracks are coed, and we share them with the rest of the 212; about 55 marines. There is a single round table in the center of the room, and nobody but Dog Squad ever uses it.

"Is that a challenge, Donk?" I asked playfully, sitting in a chair across from him and leaning my elbows on the table. He locked his fingers behind his head and leaned his chair back; balancing it on the rear two legs.

"Bring it on, rookie. Name the weapon, name the time, I'll hand you your ass."

"You know, why don't you show the rookie how to handle Rasputin's rifle? You handle it better than even him, I think." Bates had settled into a chair a couple down from Donk. Rasputin grunted from somewhere in the room. Donk glanced at Bates before turning his signature grin on me.

"How 'bout it rookie, think you can handle that?"

"Please," I folded my arms over my chest and settled back into my chair.

"If you're so confident, maybe you wouldn't object to making this a little more interesting?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Loser gets latrine duty for the next two months." Donk smirked at me.

My nose scrunched at the thought of the latrines in the barracks. With thirty-something guys sharing the same bathroom they tend to get pretty nasty. On the other hand, I was pretty damn confident that I'd be able to best Donk with a sniper rifle. Hell, I was pretty damn confident that I could best Donk with any weapon. You don't have a past like mine without knowing how to shoot.

"You got a deal." I agreed, returning his smirk.

"Trying to get out of scrubbing the toilets again, Donk?" At the sound of Chief Williams' voice, Donk removed his feet from the table and straightened in his chair. My smirk faded, but Donk's remained plastered on his face. In fact, it only seemed to grow as he looked at her.

I've been on Eden Prime for three weeks already, and the Chief has barely spoken a dozen words to me since our first encounter. And when she did speak to me, she was short and cold. I mean, I know I'm the new guy and I get that she is wary of me, but damn. You'd think I was personally responsible for Marley's discharge.

"The rookie here thinks he can best me on the range. I figured that if he was dumb enough to think so, then he was dumb enough to clean the toilets." Donk turned his smirk back on me. Chief Williams also looked at me, and appeared to be contemplating something.

"I don't know, Donk. My money's on Graham. I've seen the way he shoots." My brows shot up in surprise at her words, and it was evident from the way Donk's face fell that he was equally surprised. He turned to her.

"Ash, you wound me with your cruel words!" He put his hand over his heart in mock agony. The Chief rolled her eyes at him.

"Whatever. Just make sure you wait until I'm there to have this little competition. I want to see the rookie wipe the floor with you." Donk chuckled, and muttered something that sounded like "in his dreams" under his breath. "Alright, it's almost time for dinner chow guys. Move out!" she ordered, her voice louder so the whole room could hear. Everyone started moving towards the door at her command, and I stood up to follow.

"Graham, can I have a word?" Chief Williams' voice stopped me. I raised my brow at her in question, but she looked around the room to watch as everyone filed out of the barracks. I sat back down in my chair and waited. Once everyone else had left, she turned her gaze back on me and lowered herself into the chair across the table. She seemed to study me for a few moments, causing me to shift in my seat. "You can relax; you're not in trouble or anything." I scoffed before I could stop myself, and I cleared my throat to try and cover it up. No sale. "Something funny?" she arched an eyebrow at me.

"No ma'am. It's just…" my voice trailed off, debating whether I should say anything.

"Speak freely, Lucas. We're not on duty here." Again, my eyebrows shot up with surprise at her use of my first name. I didn't even think she knew my first name.

"I, uh… alright," I cleared my throat before shifting in my seat one more time. "It's just that ever since I got here, it seems like I'm always in trouble whenever you talk to me. I always feel like I've done something wrong, and I can never figure out what it is." She sighed and rubbed her brow.

"Yeah, I know I've been a little… cold towards you. I apologize for that, but I can't promise you that will change until we talk about what I needed to talk to you about."

"Which is?"

"As your commanding officer, I am allowed access to your service records. I know Eden Prime is your first duty station, for example." She leaned forward in her chair and rested her elbows on the table, her chestnut eyes searching my own steel grey. "I also know that it wasn't by your own choice that you joined the Alliance. Your enlistment was court ordered." I tensed at her words.

"So it was." She raised her brow at my vague response.

"Why?" my jaw clenched and my eyes hardened as I met her glare evenly.

"It wasn't in my file?" she shook her head. "Then I guess they decided that you didn't need to know." Her mouth fell open. I stood up and took a few steps away from her before turning back. "All due respect Chief, but I don't make a habit of talking about my past. Everything you need to know is in my file. But also know this; I have made decisions in the past that I am not proud of. But I am here now, and it is of my own free will that I am."

"How is it your own free will when you were forced to enlist?"

"I wasn't forced to enlist. I was given the option to enlist."

"And what other options were you given?"

"Prison. That's what the others chose."

"Others?" I scoffed and shook my head.

"Permission to be dismissed to chow, ma'am?" she glared at me for a few moments, and again I met her gaze evenly.

"Fine," she said as she rose from the table. "Go eat. But we're not finished with this conversation."

"Yes," I turned to leave the barracks. "We are."

* * *

She couldn't understand how someone could be so infuriating without actually doing anything. Ever since he'd first arrived on Eden Prime, there was something about Lucas Graham that just rubbed Ashley the wrong way. It wasn't like he'd been doing anything in particular to frustrate her, he just did.

At first it was because he was there to replace Marley. Ash and Marley had been close; he'd been like a brother to her. Hell, the whole Dog Squad is practically a family. Graham had only been here for three weeks and he was already pretty tight with the others. But Ashley just couldn't bring herself to let her guard down around the guy. And the fact that he was so closed off about his past certainly didn't help things. Sure, Ash had some things in her past that she liked to keep buried. But if she was ever directly asked by a superior officer about them, she wouldn't even think to behave the way Graham had with her. It was infuriating. And it was also invigorating.

Ashley had always taken her command very seriously. Being who she was, she had to. And nobody had ever challenged her command the way Graham did. While it did piss her off to no end, it was also refreshing to be treated like a human being again; like an equal. It's for that reason that she hadn't requested for him to be transferred out of her command. Well, that and he's definitely not hard to look at.

The first thing Ashley noticed about Graham was his build. The only person she'd ever met that was built like him was Bates, and she thought Bates was a monster of a man when she first met him. He'd always reminded her of those professional body builders. And now there were two of him in her squad. But Graham didn't seem to be cocky about it the way Bates was. In fact, she couldn't recall ever hearing Graham refer to his physical appearance at all.

The second thing she noticed was his tattoo. She had yet to see the entire thing, as it seemed to just peek out from his right shirt sleeve. She couldn't even make out what it was, but it looked to be something tribal from what she could tell. There was a part of her, a rather large part, which was curious to see the rest of it and figure out what it means. But judging by how tight lipped he was being about his past, she'd more than likely not get an answer if she asked. Not that she would anyway. She wouldn't, she couldn't, bring herself to get closed to him like she was with the others. Not if he couldn't open up about his past. Not if she couldn't know him. She'd spent the rest of the day since their conversation in the barracks fuming over it. What was he hiding? What did he do that was so bad he almost got sent to prison? Why wouldn't he tell her?

Ashley let out a frustrated groan as she rounded the stone wall and continued her run towards the creek. This is what she did when she was frustrated; she ran. And she was running a lot lately. When she finally reached the creek, she slowed to a halt at its side. As she rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath, she relished in the feel of the cool late night breeze and let the sound of the rapidly moving water wash over her. When her breath finally slowed, she straightened her back and stretched. Then suddenly the hair on the back of her neck began to prickle as she felt someone watching her. She spun around and met the pair of steel grey eyes that were staring back at her.

"What the hell are you doing here, Graham? Trying to give me a heart attack?" she reflexively took a step backwards.

"Sorry Chief, I didn't mean to scare you. I couldn't sleep, and I didn't know you'd be here." He sounded winded, and Ashley noted that he was dressed in his Alliance issued PT clothes.

"You a runner, too?" she asked casually, trying not to let her trepidation show in her voice.

"Sometimes," he moved over to the water and bent down, collecting some into his hands and splashing it onto his face. "Working out helps to clear my head when I'm stressing about things."

"Well then you must be stressed quite a bit." Ashley gestured pointedly at his body. He scoffed and stood, hesitating a moment before turning to face her again. "Can I ask what has you stressing now, or are you going to be an asshole like before if I do?" he frowned and ran his still damp hand through his hair, causing the usually somewhat spikey dark hair to slick back.

"Chief, I owe you an apology." Ashley's eyebrow shot up and she folded her arms under her chest. Graham looked away for a brief moment, but then his eyes locked on to hers again. "I was out of line earlier when we talked. I shouldn't have spoken to you the way that I did, you're my superior and you deserve more respect from me." His eyes fell away again as he continued to speak. "I don't talk about my past, and I have my reasons for that. You'd understand if you…" his eyes found hers again. "Don't you have secrets? Aren't there things about your past that you don't want anyone to know?"

"Of course I have secrets, Lucas." He seemed surprised at her use of his first name, just as he did when she used it earlier. Also just like before, she chose to ignore his surprise. "Everybody has secrets. But I don't know _anything_ about you. I don't know where you grew up; I don't know if you have any siblings, I don't know anything. None of it is in your file. And the fact that you were _ordered_ to enlist but won't tell me why makes me wonder if you can be trusted. I don't want someone I can't trust watching my back. I have no idea what kind of person you are."

"You're right, you don't. And you won't find out by looking into my past, Chief. You'll find out by getting to know me now. I don't want to be judged by the past, I want to be judged by who I am now. Just like you and your grandfather." Ashley winced at the mention of her grandfather. To his credit, Graham seemed to regret his words. "Sorry, I know that's a sore subject."

"How did you find out?"

"Donk told me. And he told me not to be a dumbass and say anything to you about it, which I just did." His hand pulled through his hair again. "For what it's worth, I think your grandfather did the right thing. If he hadn't surrendered to the turians, a hell of a lot more marines would have lost their lives." His words took Ashley completely off guard, and all she could do was gawk at him. Nobody had ever been so understanding towards her grandfather before, at least not to her face. "And even if people disagree with what he did, they have no right to punish you for it. You're not your grandfather, Chief." They were both quiet for a few moments as Ashley continued to gawk at him, unsure of what to say.

Graham shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair again. "I'm sorry, I had a point here." He sighed and gave her a nervous smile. "I know something about your past, so I figure you deserve to know something about mine."

"That part of my past isn't exactly a secret, Lucas."

"I know, but that's not the point. I know who your grandfather is, so I'll tell you about my family." He scratched at the dark scruff on his chin. "My parents were murdered when I was eight. A small time gang raided our apartment building looking for food, money, drugs; anything they could find really. By that point there were only a few people left in the building, so the thugs killed everyone but me. I was young enough that they thought…" his voice trailed off as he turned away from her. "Shit, I don't know what they thought. I was still corruptible, I guess. Anyway, to make a long story short, they took me that day and I grew up with them."

"Jesus Lucas, I'm so sorry." She had to stop herself from putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Despite his opening up, she still wasn't ready to fully trust him just yet. He turned back to face her.

"I don't need pity from you, Chief. It's in the past. Despite how it may have been, it helped to shape me into who I am today. I said I don't want to be judged by my past, and I meant that. But I still know where to give credit for my character." He looked towards the sky for several moments and all Ashley could do was watch him.

"So you grew up with the people that took you? She asked, trying to break the silence. He looked back at her and nodded. Then he gave her a small smile and moved away from the water.

"I think that's enough sharing for now, Chief. We should probably head back to the barracks and get some sleep." He started to walk off towards the barracks, but he stopped just before he rounded the corner. After hesitating a moment, he turned back to face her. "You know, it was kind of nice to talk about this. Maybe we can…" he cut himself off and gave her a small smile. "Goodnight, Chief."

"Goodnight rookie." He chuckled at his nickname and disappeared around the corner, leaving Ashley to think about everything he'd told her. Despite the darkness of the night around them, she could still see the hurt in his eyes while he was talking about that small part of his past. And while she wasn't ready to fully place her trust in him, she felt like they were getting closer. Perhaps one day, she could get him to fully open up. Although something told her getting any more information out of him wasn't going to be easy.

She smiled to herself and started walking back towards the barracks. "One step at a time, Williams." She whispered as she rounded the corner.


	3. Chapter 3

**SO JUST A HEADS UP FOR ANYBODY THAT HAS READ "FOUNDATION"... I DID CHANGE A FEW MINOR THINGS FROM THE COMIC TO ADD TO THE DRAMATIC EFFECT. I HOPE IT GOES OVER WELL. ENJOY ^_^**

Shepard stepped off of the elevator into the docking bay, clad in his Alliance BDU's. The brisk Vancouver air sent goosebumps up his arms as he searched the area. He spotted Captain Anderson speaking to a turian and made his way towards him. When he noticed his approach, the captain turned and extended his hand towards Shepard, who shook it firmly.

"Shepard, glad you could make it."

"Good to see you Anderson."

"You too," he gestured towards the turian he had been talking to. "This is Nihlus Kryik. He's a council Spectre." The turian extended his hand to Shepard.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander. I've heard many great things." Shepard took Nihlus' hand.

"The pleasure is mine, Spectre. I mean no disrespect, but why exactly are you here?"

"I'm going to be joining the Normandy on her maiden voyage." The turian chuckled at Shepard's puzzled expression. "While the Normandy is officially an Alliance ship, it was co-produced by the turian hierarchy and funded by the council. I represent both parties, and I am only here to make sure everything goes smoothly." Shepard nodded.

"Makes sense, I guess."

"Needless to say, production has been completed much sooner than we anticipated." Anderson folded his arms across his chest. "What we assumed would take years to complete only took a few months, thanks to the help of the turian hierarchy."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit excited to see her, sir." Anderson chuckled at Shepard's jest.

"Well then, let's get moving shall we? Most of the crew is already aboard. As XO, you'll want to get familiar with all of them." He gestured for Shepard to follow him, and they began moving further into the docking bay. "Have you read the dossiers that I sent you?"

"Yes sir, I studied them on my flight to Vancouver."

"That's good. They're all pretty excited to meet 'The Great Commander Shepard"." Anderson chuckled as Shepard rolled his eyes.

"There's nothing special about me, Anderson. I'm just a soldier, same as them."

"I know, Shepard. But you're a damn good soldier, one of the best the Alliance has to offer. They have good reason to look up to you."

"Nobody should be looking up to me. All I'll do is disappoint them." Anderson stopped walking and turned to face Shepard head on, almost causing the commander to bump into him.

"Shepard, you can't keep beating yourself up over Akuze. You know damn well that wasn't your fault. It's been six years; it's time to move on."

"How the hell am I supposed to move on from that Anderson?" Shepard's voice was low, but menacing. "I watched my whole unit get wiped out! I listened to them scream as the maws drug them underground! I held several of them in my arms and watched the light fade from their eyes! You don't just 'move on' from that."

"Listen to me." Anderson stepped closer to Shepard. "If I didn't think you could handle this assignment, I wouldn't have given it to you. I know you, Shepard. I know you can do this. What happened on Akuze wasn't your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself; you're the only one who does." Both men fell silent after that. After a few moments, Shepard finally nodded.

"You're right."

"Damn right I am. Now come on before the ship leaves without us." They continued to walk further into the docking bay until they finally rounded a corner and Shepard stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth hung agape as he took in the large, slender ship before him. Huge white lettering on the side branded it the "SSV Normandy". Shepard took another small step forward and whistled appreciatively.

"She's a real beauty, isn't she?" Anderson looked proudly over the ship.

"Yes sir, she's amazing."

"Wait until you see the inside." Anderson patted Shepard on the shoulder and moved towards the airlock. As they waited for the decontamination procedure to run, Shepard turned to the captain.

"So where are we taking her anyway?" The VI announced that decontamination was completed, and Anderson moved forward but turned to answer over his shoulder.

"Eden Prime."

* * *

"You really want to do this again, Donk?" I asked without looking up from my disassembled assault rifle.

"Come on, man! I'm tired of scrubbing the damn toilets." Donk moved in front of me so I could see him.

"Well then you shouldn't have made a bet you were going to lose." I looked up long enough to smirk at him and then went back to cleaning my weapon. "You've only got, what, two weeks left? Surely you can stick it out that much longer." I put down the cleaning kit and began to reassemble my weapon. Donk groaned and slumped into the chair he had been leaning on.

"This is so not fair." He rubbed his face with both hands and leaned his elbows on the table. I finished assembling my weapon and pushed it to the side, turning my full attention to Donk.

"Tell you what; you don't get let off the hook. But I will help you out for the rest of your time. How does that sound?" Donk dropped his hands onto the table and gaped at me.

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course," I shrugged. "We're brothers. Brothers help each other out, no matter the cost, right?" Donk gave me one of his signature boyish grins.

"Damn straight. Thanks, Graham." I reached over the table and slapped him on the arm before standing up and retrieving my weapon. I turned to head towards my locker and almost ran right into Chief Williams.

"Shit," I breathed, taking a step backwards. "Sorry ma'am didn't see you there."

"Clearly," she smiled at me before chuckling and sitting down in the chair I had just been sitting in. "That was awfully nice of Graham to offer to help you clean the latrines, Donk." I heard her say as I crossed the room to my locker to store my weapon.

"Yeah no kidding," I heard Donk respond. "You coming to Jenner's thing tonight?"

"Hell yeah I'm coming, are you kidding?" I turned to make my way back to the table. "What about you Graham? You coming tonight?"

"What, to Jenner's birthday thing?" I sat down a couple chairs away from her. "I don't know. I don't exactly have a good history with alcohol." I met Ashley's eyes briefly. We'd been getting along okay ever since that night by the creek. I'd even talked to her a little more about my past. I told her how I'd grown up on Omega. I even told her that I grew up with the gang that killed my parents and became one of their top assassins; hence why I am able to shoot so well. But I didn't give her any details; I just stuck with the basics. And I still haven't told her why I was ordered to enlist. She tries to find any opportunity to get me to spill about my past. And I have to admit, part of me likes talking to her about it. I don't know why; I've never liked to talk about my past before. But with her it just feels so… natural.

"Sounds like a story." And there it was, her not-so-subtle way of pushing for information. I met her curious brown eyes again.

"Not one you'd be interested in, I'm sure." Her eyes narrowed, and I glanced at Donk. She followed my gaze and seemed to take the hint, because she didn't push any further.

"You should totally come, bro." Donk leaned back in his chair. "It'll be fun. You won't even have to drink that much." I laughed.

"Alright, you twisted my arm. I'll come." I glanced at Ashley again, and she was smiling back at me.

"Good. I was about this close to making it an official order." She jested. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Alright, alright, are we going or what?" We all stood from the table and moved towards the door.

"So do I get to hear about that history with alcohol?" Ashley asked once we were outside; quiet enough so that Donk couldn't hear her. I laughed.

"I knew you weren't going to let that go." She raised her eyebrow at me, and I sighed. "Why am I always the one talking about my past? What about you, why don't I get to learn about you?" she exhaled slowly and chuckled.

"I guess I'm just a mystery." She winked at me and entered the bar. I smiled at her back and shook my head. _Damn this woman._

XXXXXXX

I relished in the burning in my legs and the cool breeze that washed over me as I jogged down the hill towards the creek. I didn't remember Commander Woods being such an asshole before. He had come in during our celebration and announced that we'd be going on patrol early in the morning. Not only that, he removed Ashley from command and placed Donk in charge instead. He seemed to have an issue with Ashley's grandfather. The way he treated her pissed me off to no end, and I had tried to stick up for her but the commander quickly put me in my place.

The whole squad knew that Ashley was more fit to lead the mission, but he was determined to keep her down, all because of her grandfather. The unfairness of it made my blood boil with anger. Ashley was a hell of a soldier, and a damn good leader. What her grandfather did ages ago shouldn't matter.

I know I should be trying to get some sleep, to prepare for the mission tomorrow, but I was feeling restless. I was too angry to sleep. I needed to clear my head, and the only way to do that was to work out or go to the shooting range. Since it was so late the shooting range was out of the question, so I had to settle for a run. It was a cool night, especially down in the valley by the creek. There was a medium sized rock on the edge of the stream that was big enough for two people to sit on, and I plopped down and inhaled the aroma of nature. I'm not sure how long I was sitting there before I heard footsteps fast approaching down the hill. I looked up in time to see Ashley come sprinting around the corner. She stopped when she reached the stream and bent over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"Guess I'm not the only one." My voice caused her to jump.

"Dammit Graham, you scared the shit out of me!" she breathed, still panting pretty hard.

"Sorry." I ran my hand through my hair and looked back towards the stream. The moonlight was reflecting off the water and casting a low shade of light in the valley. I noticed Ashley walk over and sit next to me on the rock.

"What are you doing out here? You should be resting for tomorrow." She had mostly regained control of her breathing.

"So should you. But I can guess your excuse." She shook her head and scoffed, gazing out to the stream. "Its total bullshit, the way he treats you. It's not fair to you."

"Yeah well, not a whole lot I can do about it. Is my mistreatment what has you out here, too?" she joked.

"Yes, actually." I admitted. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't think you cared that much, Graham." I scoffed.

"Yeah well, what can I say?" I shook my head. "I'm not sure why it pisses me off so much, honestly."

"Well, I appreciate the thought Lucas, but why don't you let me worry about myself? I can handle it, I promise." She gave me a small smile. We were quiet for a moment, listening to the running water and the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. "So are you going to tell me about your history with alcohol?" I laughed.

"You're really not going to let that go, are you?" she smirked at me. "God, you're so damn stubborn." I shook my head.

"Are you going to tell me?" I sighed.

"Maybe I'll tell you some other time, Ash." She scoffed and shook her head.

"I would have thought that after three months of working together you'd come to trust me by now."

"I do trust you Ash, with my life. I just," I ran my hand through my hair again. "My past is not something I like to talk about. It's not something I'm proud of. And the things I've told you, I've never told anyone else. It's just a lot to handle. Give me some time." I expected her to argue or pry further, as was her stubborn nature, but instead she just offered me a small smile and nodded.

"I get it. I'm sure you'll tell me when you're ready."

"Maybe one day," I returned her smile. "But we really should be getting back. We don't want to be too tired for the mission tomorrow." She nodded as we stood. I noticed the playful gleam in her eye as she turned to look at me.

"Race you?" before I had the chance to respond, she shoved me back and took off in a sprint back up the hill. I grinned as I quickly recovered and chased after her.

It didn't take long for me to catch up to her, and I smirked as I passed her. "What's the matter, Chief? Getting a bit slow?"

"Not at all, I was just waiting for your ass to catch up!" she breathed before picking up her pace and matching my strides. We both laughed as we raced under the moonlight back towards the barracks.

XXXXXXX

My heart was pounding in my chest as I tightened the grip on my Avenger assault rifle. I had woken up this morning with a bad feeling about this mission, and now it only seemed that my suspicions were ringing true.

"Try them again!" Ashley demanded. Jenner gave her a curt nod before bringing his fingers to his ear again.

"Able Squad, this is Dog Squad. Do you copy?" again, his hail brought no response. "I repeat, Dog Squad to Able Squad, do you read me?" still nothing. The pit that had begun forming in my stomach deepened. He turned back to Ashley and shook his head. "There's nothing, Chief. I've gotten no reply from Able or Bravo."

"Dammit." She shook her head as she brought her hand up to the front of her helmet, seeming to want access to her forehead. While Commander Woods had assigned command of this mission to Sgt. Donkey, he was quick to relinquish it to Ashley once we set out for the beacon. She accused him of trying to con her into bed yet again, and he'd only laughed her off. He assured her that he felt more comfortable under her command than leading the mission himself, and the rest of us were quick to agree. From that moment, Ashley had taken charge.

She thought for a few moments before bringing out her own Avenger and looking around at all of us.

"Alright guys, we haven't been able to make contact with Able Squad or Bravo Squad. Bravo is closer to our position, so we're going to double back and try to figure out what the hell is going on." We all nodded and fell into our squad formation before beginning the trek back towards Bravo Squad, who had hunkered down closer to the colony.

Once we were about a half mile out we stopped. The only thing separating us from Bravo's position was the large hill that was blocking our path. "Try to raise them again." Ashley commanded. Jenner walked off a few steps to connect to his comm.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Chief." I told her as we waited for a reply. She looked at me briefly before scanning their surroundings.

"So do I; something is definitely wrong here. There's no reason we should have lost comms with both squads." I nodded in agreement as Jenner came back over.

"Sorry Chief, still no reply." He reported. Ashley sighed and turned to the rest of the squad.

"Rasputin, move to the top of the hill and scout Bravo's position. Tell me what you see." He gave her a curt nod before drawing his sniper rifle and trekking up the hill. We all waited in silence as he got into position. His comm was activated so we could hear the shuffling of his armor as he got into place.

His movement stilled and he was quiet for a long moment. Finally, his voice came over the comm, barely above a whisper. "My god." He breathed.

"Rasputin? Report!" Ashley commanded into the comm.

"I-I think you should come and see for yourself, Chief." He choked. The pit in my stomach threatened to devour me as I followed Ashley up the hill to Rasputin, along with the rest of the squad. When we reached the top, we all froze and my heart dropped.

The ground that was once full of lush green grass and beauty was now blackened by large smoking craters. Smoke clouded the air as every building burned, and the ground was littered with corpses. Even from on top of the hill, the smoke was thick enough to choke me and the stench of the corpses made it hard not to lose my breakfast. Most of the bodies I could make out were marines, but I could also see a few civilians and other bodies as well. There was no sign of movement at the camp, and everything was eerily quiet.

"Holy shit." I breathed. Ashley tensed beside me.

"Stay in tight formation and keep your weapons ready. Whoever did this could still be here. We're moving in." We all fell into place and followed as Ashley took point down the other side of the hill towards Bravo's base. As we got closer, I was able to clearly make out the bodies. I counted each dead marine, and my heart sank deeper. There were twelve bodies, which meant that the entirety of Bravo Squad lay dead before us. I kept my weapon up as I scanned the area, though I couldn't find any trace of movement anywhere. I stopped moving when I spotted a familiar face among the bodies.

"Dammit." I muttered under my breath. Ashley came up beside me and followed my gaze to the body. She paled even more and repeated my curse.

"Shit, Nirali." Ashley shook her head and crouched to close the eyes of Serviceman Nirali Bhatia. When she stood, I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ash, I know you two were close."

"Yeah, thanks." she sighed and turned to the rest of the dead marines. "Keep checking the bodies. Some of them may still be alive." she ordered the rest of the squad, but I could hear the doubt in her voice. She knew, as well as the rest of us, that we weren't going to find any survivors. Nevertheless, we all continued searching.

Along with Bravo Squad, there were three dead colonists and two synthetic-looking corpses. Jenner moved in to inspect the synthetics, and his face paled. "That's impossible!" he whispered.

"What the hell are those things, Jenner?" Donk asked, still scanning the area with his Avenger. Jenner looked up at him before returning his gaze to the dead synthetics, his eyes wide.

"They- they're geth." He breathed.

"Geth?" Donk snorted. "What the hell do you mean they're geth? There's no way…"

"He's right." Ashley cut him off. "I recognize them. These are definitely geth." Everyone's eyes widened as we looked down at the synthetic corpses. _Geth? How the hell can they be geth?_ Geth haven't been seen outside the Perseus Veil in nearly 300 years. What the hell are they doing here now?

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud boom, followed by the hiss of an unfamiliar weapon being fired in our direction. "Shit there's more of them!" Donk yelled as he opened fire with his Avenger in the direction the shots were coming from. "Everyone move to cover!" we all scurried behind various forms of cover as we dodged the strange plasma fire that was being thrown at us. Several geth personnel were pouring into the camp from the far end, each holding weapons I had never seen before. Unlike the snap and bark of our automatic weapons, theirs only gave a muted hiss when they fired. Their rounds fired plasma instead of bullets, causing whatever they hit to melt on contact.

We all took turns peeking out of cover to spray off shots with our weapons, and I was almost relieved to see that the geth were falling pretty quickly. However, where one geth fell two more took its place. "We can't hold this position long!" Ashley yelled over the bark of her Avenger. "We need to double back to the colony and secure the colonists."

We continued to fire at the geth, waiting for a break in their fire before making our move. When there seemed to be a lull in their action, we left our cover and took off towards the colony. Several plasma shots impacted the ground around my feet, but I kept moving. I heard a gasp of pain and I turned in time to see Bates fall behind me. I stopped running and turned back to help him to his feet. He continued to fire behind us at the pursuing geth as I supported him towards the others.

We finally reached the colony, the geth following close behind us. I ducked behind a building and let Bates rest against the wall. As he peered around the corner and continued to fire at the advancing synthetics, I examined him for wounds. He had several scorch marks on various spots on his armor, but nothing seemed too serious. I quickly took my Avenger and slid to the other end of the wall, peering around and firing at the geth. Their numbers seemed to be reducing slightly, as if they'd stopped sending reinforcements.

"They're relentless!" Ashley called. "They have no fear of dying and no consideration for lost troops. It's like they don't care how many they lose, as long as they keep moving!"

"Their numbers seem to be waning. I think they're finally starting to pull…" my words were cut off as a flying synthetic drone flew past the cover. It turned its weapons on Bates and opened fire, effectively obliterating his shields and tearing through his armor like butter. "NO!" I screamed. I aimed at the drone and opened fire with my Avenger. Thankfully the drone proved less resilient than the geth, as it fell to the ground and exploded after just a few rounds from my weapon. I turned back to Bates, who was now lying lifeless on the ground next to me. "Fuck!" I cursed, leaning out of cover to fire more rounds into the oncoming geth. "Chief, they got Bates." I spoke into my comm.

"Shit, those bastards!" Ashley hissed over the comm at my report. "Keep fighting. We'll get through this." I spared a quick glance around me. Ashley, Donk, and Rasputin were firing from behind a parked mako tank slightly ahead and to my left. Jenner and Pennyloafer were firing from another building a few meters to my left; I fired off a few more rounds into the geth and retreated back behind my cover, waiting for my weapon to cool down. "Jenner! Send out a distress beacon!" Ashley called over the comm.

"I already have Chief, but I'm not sure if…" his words turned into a muffled cry as a few plasma rounds caught him in the chest. They were enough to knock him off balance and he stumbled out of cover and right into the geth's line of fire.

"Jenner!" Ashley called as the geth tore into him. He was down in a matter of seconds, and his marker on my suit's HUD turned red, meaning that he was dead. First they got Bates, now they've taken Jenner. Rage and frustration consumed me as I let out a wicked growl and chuck a grenade into the onslaught of geth forces, following it up with more fire from my Avenger.

"We're sitting ducks out here!" Donk called over the comm. We need to move to a more fortified position!" we continued firing at the geth.

"We can make for the barracks. It's fortified; they won't be able to surround us there. We can hold our own until Alliance reinforcements arrive." Ashley replied. There was a lull in the geth's fire, and I poked out of cover long enough to see a geth point a rocket launcher at the mako Ash, Donk, and Rasputin were covered behind.

"Move!" I called to them over the comm. "Rocket inbound!" They all quickly glanced up just as the rocket fired, and they took off away from the mako. However, Rasputin was a second too late to react. The rocket collided with the mako, resulting in a large explosion that propelled Ashley and Donk forward, but Rasputin was still too close. He was caught in the blast, and my HUD quickly indicated that he was dead.

"God dammit!" Donk yelled as he lifted Ashley off the ground and they joined Pennyloafer behind cover.

"We need to move now!" I called to them. All three of them bolted out of cover at once, firing their weapons at the geth as they made their way towards me. Pennyloafer fell as a plasma round struck her in the leg, and Donk cursed before hoisting her over his shoulder and carrying her rest of the way to my position.

"Okay, we make a break for the barracks. No stopping for anything, understood?" Ashley ordered. I nodded and Donk adjusted Pennyloafer on his shoulder before nodding as well. "Alright, move!" with that, we bolted.

I took point, blasting down any geth that appeared ahead of us. Ashley followed me, and Donk brought up the rear with Pennyloafer on his shoulder. We had just reached the dig site when I heard Donk curse into the comm. "The Chief is down!" my heart stopped at his words and I spun around. Ashley was on her back, firing her side arm at the pursuing geth. I ran back for her and waved Donk on.

"Go, go! I got her." I told him. He took off ahead as I bent down and helped Ashley to her feet. We continued to fire over our shoulders as we took off behind Donk.

"I thought I said no stopping?" she said as she dropped a pair of drones.

"I'm not leaving you behind, Ash." We had almost caught up to when the whoosh and hiss of a rocket being fired sounded from behind me, and said rocket flew past my head and hit Donk square in the back. There was a single beep on my HUD as both Donk and Pennyloafer's markers turned red.

"NO! Shit!" Ashley cried. She hesitated in her stride, and I grabbed her and lifted her into my arms to ensure that we both kept moving. "What the hell are you doing?" she yelled in my ear as she fired over my shoulder and took out the geth that had fired the rocket.

"Making sure we both get out of here." I willed my legs to move faster as I pushed forward. We were going to get through this. I was going to make sure she got out of this alive. She was not going to die here like everyone else. We had just entered into an empty ravine when I heard a loud crash behind me and I was propelled forward. Ashley flew from my arms and landed with a thud behind a large stone wall. I landed a few yards away from her. I vaguely registered a sharp pain in my left leg, but I ignored it. I had to get back to her.

The geth didn't appear to have followed us into the ravine, but I did spot one about a hundred yards out on the opposite end. It was slightly discolored from the rest of the geth we'd seen thus far. It appeared to notice us too, as it raised a rocket launcher and pointed it at Ashley. She was quick to fire at it with her side arm and take it down, but not before it had the chance to fire the rocket.

Time seemed to slow as the rocket flew straight towards her. Her wide brown eyes met mine at a distance that seemed impossibly far away, a mixture of fear and apology showing in them. I didn't think, I just moved. I pushed my legs as fast as they could possibly go towards her. In a last ditch effort, I dove towards her, arriving just a second before the rocket did.

I don't remember feeling the impact. The only thing I remember is the feeling of Ashley's body shielded beneath mine as the rocket reached its destination and my world turned white.


	4. Chapter 4

Ashley's eyes opened as the blast from the rocket died down. The first thing that registered for her was the crushing weight on top of her. When her eyes finally readjusted to her surroundings, she lifted her head and her heart stopped. Lucas was lying on top of her, the back of his armor split open and the skin underneath blistered in the places it wasn't scorched.

And he wasn't moving.

His indicator on her HUD read that he was still alive, but just barely. She struggled to free herself from under him, and winced as she did. While Lucas had shielded her from the majority of the blast, and her helmet had protected her face, the rocket had still obliterated her shields and melted through some of the armor on her torso and scalded the skin beneath.

She swallowed past the pain and continued to wriggle her body until she could pull herself from under Lucas' hulking build. When she was finally free, she kneeled beside him to further assess the damage that the rocket had done. The lump that had formed in her throat upon originally seeing him only grew as she looked upon him now. There was absolutely nothing left of the backside of his armor, and most of the skin underneath was either charred and black or raw and red. Bits of shrapnel were lodged into various places from his upper back to his lower calves. How the hell he'd survived, she had no idea.

She activated her omni-tool and quickly applied several doses of medigel to his entire backside, careful not to jar the pieces of shrapnel. She knew she shouldn't remove them, for fear of causing further damage. But at the same time, she didn't think he'd have another option. He would likely die if she left them in. She didn't know if anyone had received Jenner's distress signal. She didn't know if anyone was coming for them. And even if they did, would they be able to find her and Lucas in this spot? Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft moan. She looked down to find Lucas' face twisted in pain, but his eyes were still closed.

"Lucas?" Ashley shifted her body so that she had a better view of his face. He groaned again, but his eyes remained closed. His arm began to slowly move towards her, and she quickly grabbed his hand to stop it. "Don't move, Lucas." His hand tightened around hers with a strength that surprised her for someone in his current condition, but she squeezed his hand back with the same strength nevertheless.

"Ash," his voice was hoarse and weak, and she might not have heard him if she hadn't been so close.

"I'm right here Lucas. I'm fine, save your strength." He exhaled slowly at her words, and his hand fell limp in hers. "Lucas?" there was no response. "Dammit, you're not going to die on me!" tears were beginning to pool in her eyes as she squeezed his hand harder. His indicator on her HUD was still green, so she knew he was still alive, but that didn't stop her from worrying. "You're not going to leave me here alone." She whispered. She thought she felt his hand slightly squeeze hers again, but before she could be sure, she heard the now unmistakable sound of plasma gunfire from just behind the tall boulder that they were covered behind. Their shots hit the ground right next to her, throwing dirt onto both her and Lucas. She swore under her breath and reached for her assault rifle, standing and pressing her back to the boulder.

She peeked around the corner and spotted two geth units approaching her position, weapons ready. She raised her own weapon to fire at them, but before she had the chance two shots were fired from behind her and both geth units collapsed to the ground in metal heaps as the lights on their heads were blown out. Surprised, Ashley spun around to locate the source of the shots. On top of the hill just behind her she spotted two Alliance soldiers, one of them raising to his feet and securing a sniper rifle to his back. Her eyes closed and she released a sigh of relief as the two soldiers approached them. As they drew closer, she noticed the N7 logo on one of them.

"Thanks for the help, I thought we were the only ones left." She said once they were close enough to hear her. They were close enough now that she could determine that they were both male, and she couldn't recall ever seeing them before. Especially the N7; she didn't remember there being any N7s in the 212. Although, there was _something_ familiar about him…

"I'm sorry, but we're not stationed here." The N7 interrupted her thoughts. His eyes moved to Lucas and lingered for a few moments before shifting back to her. "My name is Commander Shepard, and this is Lieutenant Alenko, of the Normandy." Realization dawned on her at his introduction.

"Commander Shepard, I've heard of you. It's an honor to meet you, sir. I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, of the 212." She looked down at Lucas and tried to swallow passed the lump in her throat. "That's PFC Lucas Graham. He's been badly wounded and needs immediate medical attention." Both men looked down at Lucas, and she noticed Lieutenant Alenko shake his head and look away. The Commander winced and looked back at her.

"What the hell happened, Williams?"

"My squad was patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to double back, but they…" the lump in Ashley's throat didn't let her finish. She looked down at Lucas and clenched her fist at her side. "I think we're the only ones left, sir."

"What happened to him?" Shepard asked, nodding towards Lucas.

"We were the only two left, and we made it this far. One of them fired a rocket at me, and Graham dove in front of it like a dumbass." She shook her head and reached up to remove her helmet. "I told him not to stop for anything. If he'd have just kept going, then…"

"Then neither of you would be alive." Shepard interrupted. He looked towards the lieutenant. "Alenko, radio the Normandy for an emergency pickup. This soldier needs help, ASAP."

"Yes sir." Alenko turned away to make the call. Shepard turned back towards Ashley.

"You're wounded, Williams." He observed as his eyes moved over her. Ashley looked down at herself, and cursed. She'd all but forgotten about her own injuries. "Here," Shepard stepped forward with his omni-tool activated and applied a dose to her injuries. "Does that help?"

"Yes sir, thank you. I hardly even noticed them." She glanced back at Lucas, who was still unmoving on the ground. She checked her HUD again, just to make sure he was still alive.

"So if I'm not mistaken, those were geth that attacked you."

"Yes sir, I believe so."

"The geth haven't been outside the Perseus Veil in nearly 300 years, why are they here now?" the lieutenant had returned.

"I'm not sure, sir. I was just as surprised as you." Ashley shook her head and looked back at Lucas.

"The Normandy is on its way, Commander." Alenko gave Ashley a sympathetic look. Shepard nodded in his direction and turned back to her.

"Good. We've got a state of the art med bay and one of the best doctors in the Alliance. She'll fix him right up." He gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"Thank you, Commander." He nodded, but frowned after a moment.

"Listen Williams, I know you've been through a lot today, but we need your help. We're looking for a prothean beacon." Ashley nodded.

"It's straight ahead, just past that trench." She gestured in the direction she and Lucas had come from. Shepard nodded at her again, and looked to be debating something. Finally he sighed, deciding.

"You know, Alenko and I just lost our third. We could use your help, Williams, if you're up for it. We can stay here until the Normandy arrives to get Graham."

"Of course, sir." Right on cue, the sound of a ship engine cut through the air. Then the ship appeared above them, and Ashley could only stare at it in awe. The large, sleek ship descended onto an open area, several hundred yards away from where they were standing, and the bay door opened. Three marines carrying a gurney ran out towards them, along with an older, silver haired woman.

"That's Dr. Chakwas." Shepard explained. Ashley only nodded as she watched the doctor bark orders to the three marines in a thick English accent. Lucas was carefully lifted and placed on the gurney on his stomach. The three marines then quickly carried him back towards the ship, and the doctor approached them. She looked at Ashley and gave her a small smile.

"What is his name?"

"Graham. PFC Lucas Graham." The doctor nodded and put a reassuring hand on Ashley's shoulder.

"I won't lie to you, his injuries are severe. It's a miracle he even survived. But I am confident that I will be able to make him good as new." She gently squeezed Ashley's shoulder and gave her another small smile. "I'll go get started right away." She nodded at Shepard as she passed. "Good luck on the rest of your mission, Commander." He nodded at her and she quickly retreated back to the Normandy. Ashley watched as the magnificent ship took to the skies once more and disappeared into the planet's orbit.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Williams. Now, are you ready to go?" she looked at the Commander as she replaced her helmet on her head.

"Hell yes, sir. It's time for some payback."


	5. Chapter 5

"This is the dig site. The beacon was right here, it must have been moved." Williams shook her head and sighed.

"By who, our side or the geth?" Alenko folded his arms and looked at her.

"Hard to say, maybe we'll know more after we check out the research camp."

"You didn't notice that the beacon was missing when you came this way?" Williams gave the lieutenant an incredulous look.

"I was a little too busy being shot at and almost blown up to notice." She snapped, placing her right hand on her hip. Alenko raised his brow and opened his mouth to say something, but Shepard stepped forward.

"Enough! Give her a break Alenko. She's had a bit of a rough day." The lieutenant held up his hands in surrender and took a couple steps backwards. Shepard noticed Williams roll her eyes as he turned to her and folded his arms over his chest.

"You mentioned a research camp. Do you think there're any survivors there?"

"Maybe, if their luck was better than ours. The camp is just at the top of this ridge, up the ramps." She pointed towards a break in the perimeter of the dig site. Shepard nodded and turned towards the path.

"Alright, let's go. Keep your guards up and watch for survivors." His command was answered by a couple of "Aye ayes" and they began moving forward. They had just made it to the ramp when there was static over the comm, followed by Nihlus' voice.

"Change of plans, Shepard. There's a small space port up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there." He didn't give Shepard a chance to respond before the comm line went dead again. Shepard rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Who was that?" Williams asked as they moved up the ramp.

"That was Nihlus, he's a Spectre. He came with us to retrieve the beacon." Alenko answered.

"He thinks he's in charge." Shepard scoffed.

"Hey Williams, listen." Alenko moved up so he was closer to her. "About before, I'm sorry for giving you a hard time. I didn't mean anything by it."

"That's alright, Lieutenant. We're all having a shitty day. No hard feelings. I'm sorry I snapped at you." He smiled at her and nodded.

"That's alright, Chief. We're all having a shitty day." she gave him a small smile. Shepard couldn't help but empathize with Williams. She had just witnessed her whole unit wiped out, much like he had all those years ago on Akuze. He just hoped, for her sake, that she handled it better than he did.

He only realized he'd been staring at her when her eyes met his, and he quickly averted his gaze. He felt the heat begin to spread in his cheeks, but he wasn't sure the cause of it. He chose to ignore it and keep moving.

They reached the top of the ramp and the three of them stopped dead in their tracks. "My god," Williams breathed. There were collapsed buildings that were raging with flames. Bodies littered the ground, most of them civilian but some of them scientists and marines. A lot of them were charred beyond recognition. The putrid smell made Shepard want to gag, but he swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and tried to breathe through his mouth. It didn't really help.

Off to the side of the camp, there were three large spikes that towered over them, each holding an impaled body at the top. Then, all at once, the spikes began to lower with a loud screeching sound and the bodies began to wiggle and shriek.

"Oh god, they're still alive!" Alenko shouted over the chaos. As the spikes receded completely into the receivers and the bodies rose to their feet, Shepard was finally able to get a good look at them. At one time they may have been human, but they definitely weren't anymore. Their skin was a sickly grey color and they had what appeared to be glowing blue wires snaking throughout their entire bodies.

"What did the geth do to them?" Williams asked nobody in particular. The three husks' eyes fell on the three soldiers before them, and one of them threw its head back and let out a piercing shriek before lunging forward. Shepard quickly pulled his shotgun from his back and blasted at the husk, sending bits of grey and blue flying in every direction. The remaining two husks let out their own cries, but before they had the chance to run forward Williams had already launched a grenade in their direction. It exploded and effectively incapacitated both of the husks; one of them being blown into pieces while the other got off with two less legs and half a face. Shepard scanned the area around them, but saw no signs of further threat.

"Alright, let's keep moving." He commanded, tightening his grip on his shotgun as they moved forward.

"Commander, that door is closed." Williams pointed out, gesturing to one of the only two buildings left standing in the camp. "The security lock is engaged, there might be someone inside." Shepard looked to the door and noticed that she was right.

"Good eye, Williams." He moved to the door and activated his omni-tool to bypass the lock. After only a few seconds, the lock disengaged and the door swished open. Inside, two scientists were cowered in the corner.

"Humans, thank the Maker!" one of them stood and approached Shepard.

"Hurry, close the door! Before they come back!" the other pleaded. Shepard glanced between them.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. We took care of them."

"Yes, I think we're okay now. It looks like everyone is gone." The first scientist peeked around Shepard's shoulder to look outside.

"You're Dr. Warren, the one in charge of the excavation." Williams stepped forward. "Do you know what happened to the beacon?"

"It was moved to the space port this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp. When the attack hit, the marines held them off so we could hide." She hung her head and shook it slowly. "They gave their lives to protect us."

"No one is saved! The age of humanity is ended! Soon only ruin and corpses will remain." The other scientist, Manuel, Shepard assumed, began to pace around the room.

"What's up with him?" Shepard asked.

"He has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a bit… unstable." Dr. Warren watched her assistant with a sad look in her eyes. "Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin." Manuel stopped pacing and looked at her.

"Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction rushing towards us? To understand there is no escape? No hope? No, I am not mad." He looked over at the others. "I am the only sane one left."

"I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack." Dr. Warren gave Shepard an apologetic look.

"They don't seem to be working." Williams muttered beside him. Shepard grunted in agreement and turned to look at her.

"Alright Williams, get us to the space port." She nodded and turned to leave the building. Shepard moved to follow her but was stopped by Manuel grabbing his arm.

"You can't stop it! Nobody can stop it! Night is falling. The darkness of eternity." His eyes were pleading with Shepard. Whatever he was trying to say, the man clearly believed it. And he was terrified by it. Dr. Warren moved forward and grabbed Manuel to pull him away from Shepard.

"Hush Manuel, go lie down. You'll feel better after the meds kick in." she looked at Shepard. "I'm sorry Commander, he's just not well."

"No harm done." Shepard shrugged and gave a fleeting look to the unwell man, who was now rocking himself on the bed in the back of the room. "Take care of yourself, doctor." Dr. Warren nodded and Shepard turned to follow Ashley and Kaidan out of the building. "Alright, let's move." They rounded the corner and came across a set of metal stairs leading down to the space port. They were about to move forward when a thunderous roar rocked the sky, sending all three of them staggering backwards. In the distance, an enormous strange looking ship began to ascend into orbit. Purple lighting cracked in every direction around it.

"What the hell is that?" Alenko called.

"It's a ship!" Williams responded. "Look at the size of it!" the ship let off one final mind-splitting roar before disappearing into the planet's atmosphere. Shepard's eyes remained on the spot where the ship had disappeared for a few more moments before he looked back to the spaceport. Movement caught his eye and he pulled out his sniper rifle to investigate. He spotted three geth, one on the spaceport and two at the bottom of the stairs leading up to it. He fired a shot at the one on the spaceport, blowing it's head light and killing it. The other two immediately turned in his direction and began firing their weapons.

Once Shepard's rifle had cooled down, he fired two quick shots, taking out both remaining geth but causing his rifle to overheat. He quickly exchanged it for his assault rifle just in time to spot the two husks that were moving up the ramp towards them. Williams opened fire on them with her own assault rifle and Alenko sent one flying with a biotic throw. Shepard joined Williams' barrage of fire and the husk fell. Shepard walked towards the husk that Alenko had thrown and pulled out his shotgun. Just as it was starting to get back to its feet, Shepard placed the barrel of the shotgun against the husk's skull and pulled the trigger, effectively removing its head from its shoulders.

"I fucking hate these things." Shepard looked at the mutilated corpse with disgust as Williams and Alenko appeared behind him.

"Yeah, I can tell." Williams said, storing her weapon on her back. "Hey Shepard, there's another intact building in the corner over there. Same as before, the security lock is engaged. Maybe we should check it out?" Shepard looked over to the corner she was referring to and spotted the building, tucked away between the mountain and several large boulders.

"Damn Williams, nice catch. Again."

"Yeah well, I guess I just know where to look." Shepard nodded in understanding. She was handling the situation pretty well so far, but he could guess that the full weight of the reality just hadn't hit her yet. No doubt the adrenaline was still pumping through her system, numbing everything but the will to live and get the job done.

That's how he'd felt, anyway.

"Alright, let's go check it out." He led the other two towards the building. He had just activated his omni-tool to bypass the lock when a voice called from inside.

"Everybody stay calm out there! We're coming out, we're unarmed!" a second later, the door swished open and three civilians stepped out of the building, two male and one female.

"Is it safe? Are they gone?" The female asked.

"You're all safe now. Nobody's going to hurt you." Shepard reassured her. She looked relieved at his words.

"Those things were crawling all over the shed. They'd have found us for sure, we owe you our lives." The man in the middle spoke. It was the same voice that had called out from inside the building.

"Are you three alright? Were any of you hurt in the attack?" Shepard asked.

"No, we made a break for the shed as soon as we saw that ship. They never found us."

"Alright, you should get out of here." Shepard turned to walk away, but he heard the other man whisper behind him.

"Hey Cole, we're just farmers. These guys are soldiers. Maybe we should give them the stuff." Shepard turned back to face them.

"Geez Blake, you got to learn when to shut up!" Cole hissed at the man. Shepard crossed his arms.

"There something you need to tell me, Cole?" Cole sighed.

"Some of the guys at the space port were running a small smuggling ring. Nothing major. In exchange for a cut of the profits, we let them store packages in our sheds."

"You're breaking the law, Cole." Shepard uncrossed his arms and took a step towards the man.

"We're not hurting anybody! Hell, most of the time I don't even know what's in the packages. I just thought maybe there was something we could use." He reached behind him and pulled out a pistol. "I found this. I thought we could use it if those things came back, but you'll probably get better use out of it than we will." He handed the pistol to Shepard.

"Who's your contact at the spaceport Cole?" Williams asked, her voice carrying a hint of anger. "What's his name?"

"He's a good guy, I don't want to get him in trouble. Besides, I'm not a snitch!" Cole folded his arms over his chest.

"Cole, there's a chance he had something to do with this attack. We need his name." Shepard took a subtle step between him and Williams. Cole contemplated his words for a bit before finally sighing and shaking his head.

"Alright fine, his name's Powell. He works the docks at the spaceport, if he's even still alive." Shepard nodded and turned to leave. "Good luck." Cole called after him. They continued to move towards the spaceport, and Shepard glanced back at Williams. Even with her mask on, he could tell that she was fuming. He shook his head and sighed. He almost hoped they didn't find Cole's contact, for Powell's sake.

They reached the stairs that led up to the spaceport and climbed them, but once they reached the top Shepard halted. On the ground in front of him was another body. This one was turian. Alenko stepped forward to examine him.

"Commander, it's Nihlus." He confirmed. Shepard closed his eyes briefly and sighed. _God dammit, another one._ He moved forward to look at the Spectre. Sure, they hadn't been the best of friends, but Shepard had a great deal of respect for the turian. And to see him laying here like this... Shepard's brow furrowed as he noticed it. Just a single gunshot wound, right in the back of the head. And his own weapons were still secured to his armor, so he hadn't even drawn his gun. Which means he was either sniped, or...

"Somethings moving behind those crates," Williams called. The three of them all raised their pistols in the direction of the crates, just as a man rose from behind them with his hands in the air.

"Wait, don't shoot! I'm human!" he called.

"Sneaking up on us like that nearly got you killed. Who are you?" Shepard asked, lowering his pistol. He noticed that Williams was more hesitant to lower hers.

"My name's Powell. I saw what happened to that turian. The other one shot him." Williams' pistol immediately went back up. Shepard quickly grabbed it and lowered it, sending her a glare. She met his stare evenly.

"Calm down, Williams." Shepard ordered. She rolled her eyes but took a step backwards. He knew she was just angry, both at her situation and at the idea of someone running a smuggling ring right under her nose. Hell, he'd be pissed off too. Still, he couldn't let her do something he knew she'd regret. Shepard looked back at Powell, who was regarding Williams carefully. "I need to know what happened to Nihlus, Powell."

"The other turian got here first. He was waiting when your friend showed up. He called him 'Saren'. I think they knew each other. Your friend just let his guard down, and Saren shot him right in the back. I'm just lucky he didn't see me behind these crates."

"What happened to the beacon that was brought here?"

"We moved it to the other platform. I think that's where Saren was headed after he killed your friend. Just hop on the cargo train and it'll take you there."

"How come you're the only one who survived? Why didn't anyone else try to hide behind the crates?" Alenko asked. Powell rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"They never had a chance. I was already behind the crates when the attack hit. Sometimes I need a nap to get through my shifts, and…"

"You survived because you're lazy?" Williams hissed, her voice absolutely scandalized. This guy was starting to grind on Shepard's nerves.

"You know, Cole mentioned you." Shepard took a step forward. "Said you were his contact for the smuggling ring."

"What? No, I… I mean, what does it matter now? So I'm a smuggler, who cares? Everyone's dead now, it doesn't matter."

"Got anything we could use against the geth?" Shepard folded his arms. Alenko began pacing along the crates, searching for hidden merchandise. Powell sighed and reached behind him to lift a small crate.

"A shipment of grenades come in last week. Nobody notices if a few pieces go missing from the military orders." Williams stepped forward.

"You greedy son of a bitch! We're out here trying to protect your sorry ass, and the only thing you can think about is how to rip us off?" she raised her pistol again. Powell raised his hands in the air and staggered backwards a few steps.

"I never thought you'd need those grenades! Who'd want to attack Eden Prime?"

"Apparently the geth would." Shepard said nonchalantly. He stepped forward and stood next to Williams and glanced between her and Powell. He pretended to be debating something, and he forced a sigh. He reached out and rested his hand on Williams' arm. "As much as I'd love to let you shoot him, he's not worth the paperwork, Williams." She looked between him and Powell for a moment before finally sighing and lowering her arm.

"You're right, Commander. He's not even worth pulling the trigger." She scowled at Powell and turned her back on him. Shepard looked at the man as he lowered his hands again, his wide eyes flicking warily between the three soldiers. Shepard grabbed the small case of grenades off the crate in front of him.

"You know Powell, a lot of marines died here today. If I were you, I'd find some way to make amends." Powell hung his head and pulled something out of his pocket.

"I was saving this. It's experimental technology, completely top of the line." He handed Shepard the grenade upgrade.

"Good, now get out of here. And no more smuggling, or I swear to every god there is that I will find you." Shepard lowered his voice to make his threat sound more menacing. "And I'll bring her." He gestured pointedly at Williams. It seemed to work.

"Right, no more smuggling for me, I swear!" Powell turned and took off running. Shepard turned to face the other two soldiers. He tossed the case of grenades at Williams, who caught them with a puzzled expression.

"Those were originally meant for your unit. You should have them." Williams gave him a small smile and placed the case in the appropriate pocket in her armor.

"Thank you, Commander."

"No thanks necessary. Now, let's go find us a beacon."

 **So, we're in a bit of a good news/bad news situation. The good news is, here's another chapter xD and now we actually start delving into the canon events of the game (well, as canon as you can be with an OC anyway). Bad news, I may or may not have to switch to posting every other week after next week. Life gets busy, you know. I'll try my best to get a chapter out every week, but at this point I can make no promises. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. See ya next Saturday :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Ashley was sitting on one of the beds in the Normandy's medical bay, replaying the events of the last several hours in her head. The mission had gone completely to shit. After finally managing to disarm the four bombs that Saren had planted all over the spaceport, while fighting through a shit ton of geth, Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Alenko and herself finally located the beacon.

But then her own stupid curiosity had gotten the better of her and she got a little too close to the damn thing, managing to get herself trapped in some kind of pull field. Commander Shepard had thrown her out of the way, but he was caught by the pull field instead. When she tried to help him, Lieutenant Alenko pulled her back. Then the beacon exploded, knocking the Commander unconscious and fucking any chance the Alliance had to get their hands on it.

Once the she and Alenko had carried Shepard's unconscious body back to the ship, and Dr. Chakwas ensured them that he would be fine, the Normandy's captain, Captain David Anderson had requested a meeting with her. Apparently, having already spoken with the Lieutenant, he wanted to get a better feel for what happened on Eden Prime.

Now Ashley was sitting there, looking between Shepard and Lucas; both of whom had injuries that she was responsible for in one way or another. Ashley had stayed in the med bay ever since they left Eden Prime, but eventually the doctor had kicked her out, so she had taken the time to shower and change into her casual uniform, but then she came right back. The doctor seemed to disapprove, but she didn't say anything else. Occasionally she would offer a tight smile or a reassuring nod when she would catch Ashley's gaze, but that was it.

Lucas already looked a lot better. He was laying on his stomach, his lower half covered with a thin blanket. But his top half was exposed, revealing the fresh pink skin that the doctor had grafted for him. There was no sign that he had been covered in severe burns only hours before, except for a long, thin strip of skin running almost the length of his back. It was already starting to scar. Ashley had to really admire the doctor's skill. Had they been on Eden Prime, there is no way he would be looking as good as he did already. He had not woken up since before Shepard and Kaidan had arrived on Eden Prime, but Dr. Chakwas was certain that he would regain consciousness soon.

While he was laying there, Ashley was finally able to see the rest of his tattoo. It was a tribal design like she had originally thought, and it started partway down his right arm and snaked up past his shoulder and stopped just before his collar bone. And despite the damage done to his back, the tattoo remained mostly intact. The scar did cut through on his shoulder blade slightly, and there was some small patches missing, but it still looked good.

Shepard had been unconscious since the beacon exploded. The doctor had assured her that there had been no physical damage done, but it's been about fifteen hours since they left Eden Prime and Ashley was getting worried. Captain Anderson had been by once to check on him, and instructed the doctor to inform him as soon as he woke up. He'd met Ashley's eyes briefly before he left, and she could have sworn she saw curiosity in them. Then again, it'd been a hell of a long couple of days and she couldn't really be sure of anything she was seeing at this point.

Ashley's train of thought was interrupted by a groan. She looked over and saw that Shepard was starting to move.

"Dr. Chakwas, I think Commander Shepard is waking up." She called to the doctor, who was seated at her terminal. The silver haired woman stood and moved to stand in front of Shepard, who was sitting up in the bed.

"You had us worried, Shepard." Dr. Chakwas smiled down at him. "How are you feeling?" the Commander groaned again and rubbed his temples.

"Like the morning after shore leave. How long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think." Dr. Chakwas replied and looked over at Ashley.

"It's my fault." Shepard turned his head to look at Ashley. If he was surprised to see her, he didn't show it. "I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way." Shepard shook his head and shrugged.

"It wasn't your fault; you had no way to know what would happen." He sighed. "What happened to the beacon?" Ashley moved forward to stand beside the doctor.

"The beacon exploded; system overload, I think. The blast knocked you out cold and the Lieutenant and I had to carry you back to the ship."

"Much appreciated." He gave her a small smile, then looked at Dr. Chakwas. "So what's the damage, doc?"

"Physically you're fine, but I detected some unusual brain activity. I also saw an increase in your rapid eye movement. A sign generally associated with intense dreaming." Shepard's brows furrowed as he appeared to be trying to remember something.

"I saw," he paused and shook his head slightly. "I'm not really sure what I saw; death, destruction… nothing's really clear." His eyes closed and he shook his head before they opened again.

"I better add this to my report," Dr. Chakwas said thoughtfully. "It may…" her voice was cut off by the sound of the med bay door opening. "Oh, Captain Anderson."

"How's our XO holding up, doctor?" the Captain stood beside Shepard and folded his arms.

"I'm fine, Anderson." Shepard rolled his eyes when Captain Anderson ignored him and looked to the doctor for confirmation. Dr. Chakwas chuckled.

"He's fit for duty, Captain."

"Glad to hear it." He looked at Ashley briefly before turning to Shepard. "Shepard I need to speak with you, in private." Ashley took the hint and snapped off a quick salute.

"Aye aye Captain, I'll be in the mess if you need me." She cast one last worried glance at Lucas before leaving the room. She spotted Kaidan sitting at one of the tables in the mess and moved to join him. He gave her a small smile as she sat down across from him.

"Hey Williams, did the doctor kick you out again?"

"No, the Commander woke up. Anderson wanted to talk to him privately." Kaidan nodded and took a sip of whatever he was drinking. "What is that?" Ashley asked, pointing to his cup.

"Tea," he responded before taking another sip. "It helps me relax after a long mission, and it helps with the headaches." Ashley nodded before leaning back in her chair and stretching. Then her stomach growled loud enough for the Lieutenant to hear, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Chief, have you eaten anything since you've been on board?"

"No." She admitted. "I didn't want either of them to wake up and me not be there."

"You need to eat something, Williams. That's an order." He stood up and motioned for her to follow him. She rolled her eyes and joined him as he made his way to the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets. He pulled out a ration pack and tossed it to her. "It's not much, I know, but it's all we have at the moment." Ashley looked down at the ration and shrugged.

"I've had worse." Kaidan chuckled.

"I don't doubt that." They went back to the table and sat down, and Ashley tore into her meal. They sat in silence for a few moments while she ate and Kaidan sipped his tea.

"So how long have you known the Commander?" Ashley asked, trying to make conversation.

"I've only known him personally for a few days. This is our first mission together. But I've heard the stories."

"Yeah, I think everyone in the Alliance heard about Akuze. I can't imagine…" her voice trailed off as she looked down at her food. "Well, actually I guess I can." The reality of what happened on Eden Prime hadn't fully hit her yet. She knew that she and Lucas were the only survivors from the 212, but her mind had yet to process it. She dreaded the moment when it finally caught up to her.

"I'm sorry, Chief." Kaidan looked into his cup and frowned. She didn't respond.

* * *

Immediately I heard voices. There were two of them, both male, and I didn't recognize either of them. As I opened my eyes, it registered that I was laying on my stomach, and I moved to roll over onto my back. My body instantly protested to the movement, but I managed to flip myself over nonetheless. The pressure aggravated my sore back, but the pain only lasted a moment. The two men in the room approached the bed I was laying in. One of them was an older man dressed in Alliance dress blues. The other was closer to my age, and he was wearing a set of Alliance casuals.

"Welcome back, Private Graham." The older man spoke. He gave me a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm…" My voice was hoarse and I had to clear my throat to keep from choking. "I've felt worse." I finished. I took a second to look around the room. I didn't recognize anything about it, except for the obvious signs that it was a medical facility. "Where am I?"

"You're in the med bay on the SSV Normandy." The younger man replied. He shared a look with the older man before looking back at me. "We picked you up on Eden Prime. Do you remember what happened?" _Eden Prime._ Everything suddenly came rushing back; the beacon, the attack, the team being wiped out. The last thing I remember was that geth firing his rocket at Ashley and… _fuck._

"Chief Williams," I started as I moved to sit up. My heart was pounding so hard in my ears that I didn't hear the door open. Then there was a hand on my chest shoving me back down onto the bed.

"Take it easy Lucas, I'm right here." I breathed a sigh of relief and let myself relax at the sight of Ashley standing over me. She smiled down at me, but the smile didn't touch her eyes. The usual fire and challenge that they held was gone; she looked exhausted. "You shouldn't move around too much yet." I couldn't help but notice that she still hadn't removed her hand from my chest.

"Chief Williams is right." Came a heavy English accent. Then an older silver haired woman appeared next to Ashley and activated her omni-tool before passing it over me. "The injuries you suffered were severe. Frankly, it's a miracle you survived at all." She studied her omni-tool for a moment, and seemed to be pleased with what she saw as she deactivated it and turned her attention to me. "All your readings are normal, so you're going to be fine. You will be sore for a few days, however. I recommend against wearing body armor for at least the rest of the week."

"Speaking of which," the older man cut in. "I've taken the liberty of ordering you a new set. It will be waiting for you when we get to the Citadel."

"Thank you, sir." The older man nodded.

"I am Captain Anderson. This," he gestured to the younger man standing next to him. "is Commander Shepard. It was he and Lieutenant Alenko that pulled you both off Eden Prime."

"Well, apparently you already know who I am." I looked at the Commander. "Thank you. For getting us out of there."

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad we got there when we did."

"Me too." Ashley looked down at me and gave me a small smile, which I returned. Then her eyes fell to her hand on my chest and she pulled it away, crossing her arms behind her back and looking back at the Captain. My skin was left tingling where her hand had been, and I suddenly felt a lot colder than I had. I chose to ignore both feelings.

"Well, we may need you both to accompany us, along with Lieutenant Alenko, to speak with the council." The Captain sighed. "They may have questions about what happened down there." He looked over at the Commander. "Shepard, we should be almost to the Citadel. Why don't you head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us into dock?"

"Yes sir." Shepard snapped off a quick salute and left the room. Anderson turned back to me and Ashley, and looked between the two of us for a moment. Then his eyes stopped on Ashley.

"I think you should probably fill him in on everything that's happened." His voice was tired, and his eyes were full of sympathy as they looked between us.

"Yes sir." Ashley affirmed quietly, her jaw clenching. Captain Anderson nodded and walked out of the room. Ashley looked to the silver haired woman, who smiled back at her. "Dr. Chakwas, thank you. For, you know, everything." The doctor gave her a polite nod.

"You're welcome, dear. Now don't mind me. I'll be working over here so the two of you can talk." Ashley nodded at the doctor as she moved to her terminal, and then she turned to me. She studied me for a few moments, not saying anything at first. Then she sighed and closed her eyes as she sat down next to me on the bed.

"You don't look any worse for wear, Chief." I observed as I scanned over her. She didn't seem to have and long standing injuries. The most I could see was a small gash on her right cheek and a fresh bandage wrapped around her left forearm. "You do look exhausted though."

"Yeah well, I haven't slept since we've been on board. I was too busy worrying over your dumb ass." She frowned at me. I felt a small twinge of guilt at her words.

"How long have I been out?"

"Well, when the Normandy got there you'd already been out for about an hour. Then after we loaded you up, the Commander, the Lieutenant, and me went off looking for the beacon. That took about three hours. And we left Eden Prime about sixteen hours ago now, so you were out for about twenty hours, give or take."

"Damn, that long you'd think I'd feel a little worse than I do." I jested, trying to lighten the mood. No sale.

"Lucas, what the hell were you thinking?" She turned her body so that she was facing me fully. Her voice was angry, but her eyes were sad, almost scared.

"I told you I was going to make sure that both of us got out of there." I looked away from her and let out a heavy sigh, running my hand through my hair. "I couldn't help the others." My voice broke slightly, and I cleared my throat. "But I wasn't going to let you go, too."

"I owe you my life, you know." Ashley's voice was softer now. I met her eyes again and shook my head.

"You don't owe me anything, Ash."

"You almost died for me, Lucas."

"And I'd do it again." We both fell quiet as she looked away from me. After several moments, I sighed again and swallowed hard. "So, are we really the only ones left?" I wasn't able to bring my voice above a whisper. She nodded without looking at me. "Dammit." I breathed.

"It was almost just me." Her tone wasn't accusing like it had been before. She was simply stating a fact. I watched her quietly for a few moments as she dropped her face in her hands and sighed heavily. Then I remembered something, and I shifted on the bed so could sit up and lean against the wall for support.

"The last time I got drunk, I killed eight people." Her head snapped up and she gaped at me.

"What?"

"My assignment was to take out this girl, and I knew her. We'd been… close. After the job was done I went and got shit faced. I remember there being a bunch of batarians in the bar that were giving me a hard time." I sighed and looked away from her, images from that particular time in my past flashing through my mind.

"When I woke up the next day, I was still in the bar, laying in a pool of blood and surrounded by bodies. There were the six batarians and two humans that I assume got caught in the crossfire. The only person besides me that was alive in the club was the bartender, and she was terrified. When I asked her what happened, she said that eventually I had gotten tired of the batarians giving me shit and I attacked them. I," I paused and shifted uncomfortably in the bed. "I ripped them apart with my bare hands." Ashley was staring at me, wide eyed.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked quietly.

"Back on Eden Prime, you kept asking me about my history with alcohol. I almost didn't get the chance to tell you. I figured that I would now, before I never have the chance. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." She looked away from me again and shook her head slowly.

"I can see why you wouldn't want to. How many people have heard that story?"

"Just you, same as just about everything else I've told you." She looked at me again, her brow furrowing slightly. "Anyway, after that happened I promised myself that I would never drink again." I studied her face, debating whether or not I should give her the last detail of the story. Finally, I sighed and decided that I wanted to. "I also promised myself that I would never use my biotics again." Her head snapped back to me, and her lips parted slightly.

"You're a biotic?" she practically yelled. "How the hell did I not know that? Why wasn't it in your file?"

"Like I said, I promised myself I would never use them again. Before I enlisted, I had surgery done to install a suppressor. The physician that examined me for my enlistment was... persuaded to keep it off the record. "

"Persuaded?" she arched a brow. I ignored the question.

"I can still use my biotics if I really want to, but its extremely difficult, excruciatingly painful, and it drains a lot of energy out of me. That's probably why I was out for as long as I was."

"Or maybe it was because you took a fucking rocket to the back."

"Ash, I promised that I would never use my biotics again. I always keep my promises, even the ones I make to myself." I met her eyes again. "But I broke that one." Her brow furrowed.

"When did you-"

"Right before the rocket hit. I didn't even realize I did it until it was happening. I had thrown up a biotic barrier to deflect most of the blast. That's likely the only reason I survived at all. Hell, that's probably the only reason either of us survived." She stared at me for a few moments. I couldn't place the look in her eyes; somewhere between wariness and awe.

"Thank you." She finally whispered. "Thank you for breaking your promise for me." She stood up from the bed and looked down at me. "I don't care what you say, I owe you my life Lucas." She placed her hand on my arm. A few moments later, Dr. Chakwas appeared beside her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have these for you." She set down a pair of neatly folded Alliance casuals on the bed. "We are approaching the Citadel now, and the Commander has requested that the two of you met him up on the bridge." The doctor looked down at me sternly. "Now as for you, you must take it easy down there. Your body has not yet fully recovered, and we don't want to risk any further damage."

"I appreciate the thought doc, but I'll be fine." I smirked at her and threw the blanket that was covering me to the side as I slowly got to my feet. My entire body screamed in protest for several moments as I found my balance, but the pain eventually subsided to soreness. It felt like I had been run over by a mako. The doctor sighed and looked at Ashley, who looked like she was trying really hard to look everywhere except at me. I looked down and realized that the only thing I was wearing was a pair of Alliance issued underwear. I hummed thoughtfully and grabbed the casual pants off of the bed and slid them on.

"Chief Williams, do _try_ and get him to take it easy. Maybe he'll listen to you." Ashley scoffed.

"I doubt that, doc. Graham is as stubborn as they come." I chuckled at her words as I pulled the shirt on.

"Says the pot to the kettle." She rolled her eyes at me and turned towards the door. I moved to follow her and smiled at Dr. Chakwas as I passed her. "Don't worry, doc. I'll be a good boy." I followed Ashley out of the med bay and let her lead me to the bridge, taking in the rest of the ship with awe along the way.

More than once I felt Ashley's eyes on me as we walked, though neither of us said anything. I purposely avoided her gaze, knowing exactly what she was thinking. With everything I had just told her, it's a wonder she hadn't run screaming out of the med bay.

Then again, Ashley Williams wasn't really the "run and scream" type.

We finally arrived at the bridge, just as we were entering the Citadel's orbit. Ashley was immediately drawn to the window to gape at the large space station.

"Look at the size of that ship!" she said in awe. Commander Shepard walked up next to her and folded his arms over his chest.

"That's the Destiny Ascension; flagship of the Citadel fleet." A man said from the copilot's seat.

"Well, size isn't everything." The pilot mumbled.

"Why so touchy, Joker?" Ashley winked at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying, you need firepower too." Ashley laughed and turned back to the window, shaking her head slowly. I walked up next to her, opposite the Commander, and leaned against the window.

"Look at that monster." Ashley breathed beside me. "Its main gun could rip through the shields of any ship in the Alliance fleet." She was right. While I had been to the Citadel on several occasions before, the sheer size of the station, along with the Ascension, always baffled me.

"Good thing it's on our side, then." The same man in the copilot's seat spoke again.

"Citadel Control, this is the SSV Normandy, requesting permission to land." The pilot, Joker, spoke into his comm.

"Stand by for clearance, Normandy." A gruff male voice came from the other end. The man in the copilot's seat stood and approached me.

"Good to see you up and about. I'm Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko." He extended his hand to me, and I shook it firmly.

"Lieutenant, I heard I have you to thank for helping get me on board." He gave me a small smile and a nod. "I appreciate the help, and I appreciate you looking after the Chief in my absence." Ashley scoffed behind me. The Lieutenant chuckled.

"No thanks necessary, Graham. And please, call me Kaidan." I nodded and turned back to the window. We were sailing into the Alliance docking bay now.

"Alright boys," Shepard began, then looked at Ashley and smirked. "and Williams," he added. She rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled. "Suit up. We're due at the Ambassador's office for a meeting with the Council. Graham, I think that it goes without saying that you don't need to put your armor on yet." I grunted an affirmation as he and Kaidan left the bridge to suit up. Ashley turned to me after they were gone.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" she asked.

"I'll be fine, Ash. Don't worry about me so much." She smirked.

"Then stop trying to get yourself killed."

"I make no promises." She rolled her eyes and left the bridge. I shoved my hands in my pockets and watched her for a few moments as she made her way to the stairs that led to the lower deck.

"Hey Romeo, not to interrupt your daydream or anything," I turned and saw the pilot smirking at me, and I raised my brow. "but I thought I'd officially introduce myself."

"Romeo?"

"Oh please, like I couldn't notice the way you're pining after Williams." I laughed.

"Yeah, I am definitely _not_ pining after the Chief. She's my superior officer." He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm Joker." He held out his hand, though he didn't stand up from his seat. I took a step forward and grabbed his hand, but he winced as I shook it.

"Lucas Graham. You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I just have brittle bones." I quickly released his hand and took a step backwards.

"Shit, sorry." He laughed.

"Don't worry about it. So, you ever been to the Citadel?"

"A few times, yeah. Never been to the Presidium though."

"Oh yeah? What made you stay in the wards?" I turned and looked out the window again, looking over the docking bay.

"Just business." I heard him take a breath like he was about to ask me something else, but before he got the chance we were joined by Ashley, Kaidan, and Shepard. Ashley was wearing her usual white and pink Phoenix armor, Kaidan and Shepard both had on a set of standard black Onyx armor, the only difference being the red stripe down Shepard's right arm and the N7 on his chest.

"Alright, everybody ready?" Ashley approached me and handed me her sidearm. I arched my brow at her as I took it and clipped it to my belt.

"Just in case." She shrugged.

"Alright people, let's move out." Shepard led the way through the airlock and onto the docking bay.

"Okay, so why exactly are we going to the council?" I asked Ashley as we made our way towards the Ambassador's office. She sighed.

"Alright, so here's what happened."

 **Okay, so you'll note how nothing was said about Ashley being added to the Normandy crew. Well, that's because it hasn't happened yet. In the canon story, Ashley was offered the position on the spot because she was the only survivor from the 212. But in this case, she isn't, therefore I need to go about things a bit differently. Don't worry, it'll happen. Ashley isn't going anywhere ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, super sorry it's taken me so long to update. But like I said, life and shit happens. I can't promise I'll do better, but I promise I'll try! Anyway, here's chapter 7. Enjoy ^_^**

"I read the Eden Prime reports." Saren stated as his hologram towered above the Council and everyone else in the Council Chambers. I sneered at him, my jaw clenched tightly in an effort to keep silent. Ashley had filled me in about Saren on our way to the council meeting; about how he had brought the geth to Eden Prime for the beacon. Having been unconscious for most of the ordeal, all that meant to me was that the bastard in front of me was responsible for the slaughter of the 212.

Saren waved his hand in dismissal. "I was unimpressed." My composure vanished.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I moved to step forward, but Ashley grabbed my arm to hold me back. Shepard, Anderson, Kaidan, and Ambassador Udina all turned around to glare at me, as well as both Saren and the Council.

"Lucas," Ashley whispered. I glanced back at her before shaking her hand off my arm and gesturing between the two of us and turning my attention back to Saren.

"We lost our entire unit on Eden Prime; 53 men and women, butchered by the geth."

"Private Graham," this time it was Captain Anderson who issued the warning. I ignored him as well, my rage growing with each passing second.

"And you have the balls to stand there and say that you were 'unimpressed'?" a smug, amused smirk spread slowly across Saren's face, which caused my final nerve to snap. I took an aggressive step forward. "Why don't you bring your turian ass here and say that to my face?"

"Graham!" Shepard shouted as he stepped in front of me, pulling my attention away from the smirking Spectre. "That's enough." I glared at him for a few moments before looking around the room, having just remembered the others that were present.

The expressions that the councilors were wearing varied from outrage from the turian councilor, curiosity from the asari, and a bemused glare from the salarian. Ambassador Udina seemed to be merging the turian and salarian councilors' expressions on his own face, and Captain Anderson looked oddly impassive. Kaidan was pinching the bridge of his nose, seeming to want to remain uninvolved.

I looked back at Shepard, who just looked tired. He looked over my shoulder at Ashley and gestured towards the large staircase behind us. "Take him out of here." I looked up at Saren one last time. He folded his arms over his chest as he continued to smirk back at me. I could feel my blood begin to boil again.

"Keep smiling, asshole," I called. "You'll get what's coming to you." He laughed.

"Are you threatening me, human?"

"Consider it a promise. And I keep my promises." I felt Ashley's hand on my arm again, and I shook it off just as before as I spun around. "Yeah, I'm fucking leaving." I stomped away from the rest of them, vaguely registering Ashley's footsteps following me.

I descended the steps and kept walking, stopping only when I reached the large fountain in front of the elevators. I grabbed onto the railing so tightly that my knuckled began to turn white and leaned forward, relishing in the feel as some droplets of the cool water sprayed onto my face.

Ashley walked up next to me and leaned sideways against the railing so that she was facing me. For several moments she said nothing; she only stood and watched me. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, my heartbeat finally beginning to settle itself.

"I'm sorry." I breathed. I ran my hand through my hair and turned to face her. She was studying me with her ever-curious chestnut eyes. "I shouldn't have gone off like that."

"You're right, you shouldn't have." She sighed. " You know as your superior officer , I have to tell you that what you did was disrespectful, irresponsible, and wrong." I sighed and nodded, preparing myself for her lecture. However, it never came.

"But as your friend, and as someone who knows exactly how you're feeling right now, I have to say I get it. I don't think it's hit me yet, what happened, but it will soon. And when it does, I can only imagine what kind of shit storm I'll create. If I was Saren or the Council, I'd consider myself lucky that the only thing I got from you was a few choice words."

I gaped at her, momentarily taken aback by her words. Ashley took her command very seriously, and technically I was still under her command, even with the reset of the 212 gone. We had yet to receive any new orders. For her to be so understanding about my outburst was… a pleasant surprise, to say the least.

"Thanks, Ash." She nodded. We both fell quiet, thinking about what she'd said. After a few moments, I turned back to her. "So, we're friends now huh?"

"Well, I like to think you wouldn't jump in front of a rocket for just anybody." I scoffed.

"Hell, I wouldn't even do that for my friends."

"So what does that make me then?" I looked back at her.

"That makes you Ashley Williams." I shrugged. " And I wouldn't jump in front of a rocket for anyone but her." A slow smile began to form on her lips. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the sound of several sets of footsteps and voices approaching us.

I turned to see Shepard, Kaidan, Anderson, and Udina moving towards us. All of them, especially Udina, wore a scowl. The ambassador's only seemed to deepen when he saw me. Ashley and I seemed to be catching the tail end of a conversation.

"We shouldn't talk about this here." Anderson was saying. I noticed the minute glare that Shepard sent his way, but the Captain merely averted his gaze. Finally they stopped in front of us and Shepard sighed.

"So what's our next step?" he asked, turning his attention to the ambassador. Ashley and I moved closer to them.

"As a Spectre, Saren is virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him."

"What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator?" Kaidan asked.

"That's right." Ashley moved closer to the group. "He was asking for more time to finish his report."

"He sounded like he was close to finding something on Saren." I stood next to Ashley, using what little willpower I had left to ignore the glare and scowl Udina was sending my way, choosing instead to focus on Shepard, who was glancing between me and Ashley. He turned to Udina.

"Any idea where we could find him?"

"I have a contact in C-Sec that can help us track him down; his name is Harkin."

"Forget it." Anderson objected almost immediately. He shook his head adamantly. "Harkin was suspended last month for drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser."

"You won't have to. I don't want the council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this." Shepard turned to Udina and narrowed his eyes.

"You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation!" he growled. "He deserves better than that."

"No, the Ambassador is right." The Captain sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need to step aside." Udina nodded.

"Well, I have somethings I need to take care of. Captain, meet me in my office later." I sneered at his back as he walked away.

"Fucking asshole." I muttered, earning an elbow in the side from Ashley.

"Harkin is probably getting drunk in Chora's Den." Anderson turned back to Shepard once Udina was gone.

"If you don't trust him, I don't either." Shepard shook his head. "There's got to be another way."

"I may not like the guy, but Harkin is your best bet to find Garrus. You should also go and talk to Barla Von in the financial district. I hear he's an agent for the Shadow Broker." This caught my attention.

"The Shadow Broker?" Ashley asked.

"He's the largest information broker in the galaxy." I answered before Captain Anderson had the chance to. "He buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder."

"Exactly," Anderson nodded. "Barla Von is supposed to be one of his top representatives. It's likely he'll know something about Saren. But his information won't be cheap." I had to fake a cough to cover up my accidental snort. Nobody seemed to notice, but I didn't chance a glance over at Ashley.

"Okay, so we have a bit of ground to cover." Shepard sighed and turned to face me. "Listen Graham, I could really use you and Williams for this. But I need to know that you can keep your temper in check. What happened in the Council Chambers can't happen again."

"You're right, I'm sorry." I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. "I just,"

"I know, believe me I get it." Shepard held up his hand to cut me off. "I know what it's like to lose your whole unit. But you have to stay professional, especially in front of the council. Believe me, everything you said to that asshole, I was thinking myself. But that was not the time or place to voice those thoughts. So, can I trust you to keep it in check from now on?"

"Yes sir, you have my word." I gave him a curt nod.

"Good." He returned the nod and turned back to the Captain. "So, we have our orders." He took a step closer to him. "But what about this history with you and Saren?" the Captain sighed.

"We'll talk about it later, Shepard." He glanced between the rest of us. "In private."

"Fine." Shepard turned back to the rest of us. "Alenko, you're with me. We're gonna go have a chat with Harkin. Williams and Graham, you go find Barla Von and see what you can dig up on Saren."

"Uh, actually Shepard," I stopped him before he could walk away. "I was thinking maybe Chief Williams and me could deal with Harkin. You know, since you don't trust him."

"I don't think so." Shepard shook his head. _Fuck._ "If he turns out to be the scum that I think he will, I don't want to risk your temper getting out of hand again. Plus, things could get dangerous down in the wards. You need to take it easy still." I rolled my eyes.

"I can handle it, Shepard. I've been to the wards more times than I can count."

"Enough," Shepard held up his hand. "No more arguing. You and Chief Williams will go see Barla Von. As soon as you're finished, contact me on my radio."

"Yes sir." I sighed. Shepard nodded and turned back to the Captain.

"As soon as we find something, we'll meet you back in Udina's office."

"Good luck, Shepard." The Captain turned and walked away.

"Alright, we're gonna take a cab down to the wards." Shepard stated as he turned back to us. "You two can probably just hop on the elevator since you're just going back down to the Presidium."

"You got it, Commander." Ashley replied for the both of us. After they were out of hearing range, Ashley turned back to me. "You good, Lucas?"

"Huh?" I turned back to her, pulling my attention away from the cab that Shepard and Kaidan were climbing into. "Yeah, I'm right as rain." She narrowed her eyes, but she didn't press the issue. She moved towards the elevator and I followed her inside. I took a deep breath as we began our descent.

 _Well,_ I thought to myself, _this should be interesting._

* * *

Ashley kept glancing over at Lucas out of the corner of her eye. He was tense for the entire elevator ride down to the Presidium. He kept his eyes focused straight ahead of him, and his hands gripped the bar in the back of the elevator like they had on the fountain back in the tower; so hard his knuckles were white.

The elevator door finally slid open and they stepped off onto the Presidium. Lucas looked around and whistled.

"I can't believe that as many times as I've been to the Citadel, I've never been up here." He said quietly.

"So how come you've been here so much anyway?" Ashley asked as they moved towards the financial district. Lucas shrugged.

"Business." He said simply. She gave him a sideways glance.

"Business as in,"

"Yes Ash, I had a lot of assassination jobs in the wards. Can we please drop it?" he sighed. Ashley studied him as they walked in silence. Ever since Shepard had assigned them to Barla Von, Lucas has been becoming progressively more tense. Even now as they walked, his eyes seem to be focusing on something in the distance, and he seemed to be lost in thought. His jaw remained clenched in a hard line, and she could swear that she was starting to see tiny drops of sweat beading his neck.

"Lucas, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." He replied a little too quickly, almost as if he was expecting her to ask.

"You don't look fine." His jaw clenched harder, if that was even possible. He didn't respond that time, he just kept staring straight ahead as they entered the financial district. Ashley decided to drop it for now. She wasn't sure what had him so on edge, but he looked like he was close to breaking. She didn't want to push him too far.

They finally reached an office on at the corner of the district and stopped in front of it. Ashley walked up to the door, but Lucas stayed behind. He stared at the door for several moments, his jaw clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

"Hey, you coming?" Ashley called. He blinked several times before he looked at her.

"Right behind you, Chief." He walked up behind her and waited for her to open the door. She was beginning to get worried. He seemed ready to snap at any moment. Now she was sure that he was definitely sweating, at least from his forehead to his neck. She decided that she would ask him about it later. Right now, they had a job to do.

She tapped the button on the door and it whooshed open, revealing a small office with a single desk and a busy volus standing behind it. He glanced up when he heard the door open, but then quickly went back to whatever he was doing. Ashley stepped further into the office, and she felt more than heard Lucas follow very closely behind her.

"Are you Barla Von?" Ashley asked. The volus looked up again, this time actually taking the time to look at her.

"What's this? An earth-clan?" he breathed behind his mask. "Ah, yes I know you. You follow the one called Shepard. What was your name again?" he started messing with something on his desk again, seeming to be looking for something. Ashley raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. This is Private First Class Lucas Graham." Ashley heard Lucas' sharp intake of breath behind her. Barla Von stopped what he was doing and his head snapped up.

"Lucas Graham," he repeated. "Now there is a name I haven't heard in a while." Lucas stepped out from behind Ashley and stood next to her. "There you are; hiding from me." Barla Von waddled out from behind his desk. "So what was it, 'Private First Class'? So I suppose that means you're with the Alliance. In turn, that could only mean that you're not working for,"

"Yes, I'm with the Alliance." Lucas cut the volus off. "I've moved on past that point in my life."

"Good for you. I always did tell you they were trouble. But I'm curious; why did you go to the Alliance instead of accepting our offer?" Lucas glanced over at Ashley, who raised her eyebrow at him. He sighed and turned back to the volus.

"We're not here to talk about me, Barla Von. We need information." The volus moved back behind his desk.

"No doubt you are here for information about Saren."

"That's right." Ashley said. "Can you help us out?"

"Oh sure, I know a thing or two that may prove useful."

"And what's this going to cost us, exactly?" Lucas crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the volus. Ashley looked between the two and couldn't help but wonder what their history was. Judging by the tension that was radiating off of Lucas at the moment, it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Normally this information would cost a small fortune," Barla Von began. Lucas growled. "However, these are special circumstances. This time, I will give you the information for free.

"What kind of game are you playing?" Lucas stepped forward.

"No game." The volus replied. "Just consider it a favor for an old friend."

"I don't need any favors from you. I've learned my lesson with that one." The volus laughed.

"Calm down, Lelantos." Lucas tensed up at the name. Ashley swore it sounded familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd heard it before. Lucas narrowed his eyes at the volus.

"Don't _ever_ call me that again." Barla Von held his hands up passively.

"My apologies, earth clan; old habits die hard."

"Are you going to give us the information or not?" Lucas folded his arms again.

"Of course." Barla Von leaned on his desk. "The Shadow Broker is very unhappy with Saren right now. They used to do a lot of business, until Saren turned on him."

"Wow, Saren is a traitor? Imagine that." Ashley commented sarcastically.

"Whatever you may think of Saren, he isn't stupid. He knows the Shadow Broker is a powerful ally. Saren wouldn't have turned on him unless something huge was at stake. I don't know all the details, but the Shadow Broker hired someone to deal with it; a krogan mercenary."

"Where can we find this mercenary?" Lucas asked. Barla Von chuckled.

"You just missed him at your favorite spot. He just left Chora's Den and now he's paying C-Sec a visit. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him before he leaves the academy."

"What the hell is a krogan mercenary doing talking to C-Sec?"

"Well I doubt the visit was entirely his choice. You'll have to speak with him if you want to know more."

"We'll be sure to do that." Ashley said. "Thanks for the info, Barla Von." She turned to leave and Lucas moved to follow her.

"Goodbye earth clan. And you should come see me again, Lelantos. We should catch up." Lucas didn't even respond to the volus. He smacked the switch to open the door and stomped out. By the time Ashley caught up with him, he had his finger to his ear.

"Commander Shepard, this is Graham." He spoke into his comm, his voice oddly impassive considering the mood he appeared to be in.

"Go ahead, Graham." Shepard's voice came in reply.

"We spoke with Barla Von. Apparently the Shadow Broker hired a krogan mercenary to deal with Saren. He's over at C-Sec right now. Want us to go ahead or wait for you?"

"Meet us there. We just finished up with Harkin. I'll brief you on what we found out once we get to C-Sec."

"Copy that, Commander." He killed the comm and turned to Ashley. They looked quietly at each other for several moments before Lucas finally sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know you're going to ask."

"Ask what?" Ashley tried, and failed, to keep her voice uninterested. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Listen Chief, I respect that you're my commanding officer. And I know that I've been telling you things about my past lately. But just this once, I need to keep this one to myself. At least," he sighed again and turned away from her. "At least for now."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Ashley moved so that she was standing in front of him again.

"I don't want to talk about it Ash." He looked straight into her eyes, his steel grey burning.

"All the way here, you were acting like you might implode. I didn't say anything then; I figured it would pass. But then we got here and Barla Von recognized you, and you looked like you wanted to tear his head off." He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "Especially when he called you, what, Lelantos? What the hell does that even mean?"

"I don't want to fucking talk about it!" Lucas shouted, his voice echoing through the Presidium. His eyes had shot open again and were boring into her. His face was red and his jaw was clenched, and he had a vain that was pulsing on his forehead. Ashley took an unintentional step backwards. Lucas' eyes closed again and he took several deep breaths before they reopened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell." His voice was infinitely quieter. Ashley swallowed and shook her head slowly.

"We need to go meet the Commander." She said as she pushed past him towards the wards. After a moment's hesitation, she heard his footsteps following her. They traveled the rest of the way to C-Sec in silence.


	8. Chapter 8

Ashley and I arrived at C-Sec just as Commander Shepard and Kaidan did. Immediately, I spotted the krogan in question, surrounded by several C-Sec officers. The Commander waved us over.

"Alright, so I'm guessing that's who we're after?" he gestured to the krogan.

"Yes sir," Ashley responded "He was hired by the Shadow Broker to deal with Saren."

"Alright, so what did this information cost us?" Ashley glanced at me for the first time since we left the Presidium.

"It didn't cost us a thing." Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"But Anderson said his information was outrageous." He glanced between me and Ashley. I looked over at Ashley, who was raising an eyebrow at me; urging me to tell Shepard what had happened. I sighed.

"Normally it would have cost us a fortune." I agreed. "But Barla Von decided to give it to us for free because,"

"Because the bastard betrayed the Shadow Broker too," Ashley cut me off. She glanced at me briefly, ignoring my surprised look as she continued. "That's why our friendly neighborhood krogan here is after him." Shepard chuckled as he looked at the krogan, who looked as if he was about to grind the C-Sec officers to a pulp.

"I see. Well, we better go rescue those poor officers." He started towards the group, and the rest of us followed. We stopped several feet away, close enough to hear them but not close enough to interrupt.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar." One of the officers was saying. "You need to stay away from him." The krogan leaned in closer to the officer.

"I don't take orders from you." He growled. The officer stood his ground, even chancing another step towards the krogan.

"This is your only warning, Wrex."

"You should be warning Fist." The krogan crossed his arms and spoke nonchalantly. "I will kill him." The officer shook his head.

"Do you _want_ me to arrest you?" he said tiredly. Wrex chuckled.

"I want you to try." He moved closer to the officer, but stopped as his eyes fell on us. He pushed past the officer instead and walked towards us.

"Go on, get out of here." The officer called after him. Wrex ignored him as he came to a stop in front of Shepard.

"You look like you want something, human."

"We're trying to bring down Saren. Barla Von said to talk to you."

"Barla Von is a wise man." Wrex nodded and crossed his arms. "We may share a common goal, you and I."

"Oh?" Shepard mimicked the krogan's movements. "Enlighten me."

"I've been hired to kill the owner of Chora's Den; a man named Fist. He did something very foolish."

"Let me guess," Kaidan said. "He double crossed the Shadow Broker." Wrex looked at him.

"Smart little pyjack aren't you?" he turned back to Shepard. "A quarian showed up here on the Citadel, she was on the run. She wanted to trade information for a safe place to hide, so she went to Fist. He promised to arrange a meeting between her and the Shadow Broker. Instead, he contacted Saren."

"Fist doesn't sound like a very smart man." Shepard shook his head.

"He's just greedy." Wrex growled. "Saren paid him a small fortune for the quarian. He had to; she has evidence connecting him to the geth." We all exchanged a look.

"If we can get our hands on that evidence, we can prove Saren is a traitor." Kaidan grinned.

"Then the council will have to listen to us." Ashley nodded. Shepard turned back to Wrex.

"Where's the quarian now?"

"Last I heard Fist still had her. She's probably locked away somewhere inside his club. If you help me kill fist, she's all yours."

"What about the turian, sir? Garrus?" Ashley asked. "He wanted to take Saren down, too." Shepard scratched at the stubble on his chin.

"Well, we could use all the help we can get." He nodded. "Harkin said he was chasing a lead at the med clinic in the wards. We should probably head there on the way to Chora's Den." He looked back to the krogan. "Welcome aboard, Wrex." He extended his hand, and the Wrex shook it with a grunt and a nod. "Alright people, let's move out."

We all piled into the elevator leading up to the wards. I glanced over at Ashley a few times, but she always seemed to be looking everywhere but at me. After the elevator finally came to a stop at the wards, it was only a quick walk to the clinic.

Shepard opened the door, and I immediately spotted Garrus maneuvering against the far wall, crouched low with his pistol in hand. There was a man talking to the doctor; a woman with short red hair and a French accent. There were two other men standing of to the side, assault rifles drawn. We were apparently walking in on some kind of extortion attempt.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" The doctor was saying, her voice pleading and laced with fear.

"That was smart, doc." The man replied. "Now if Garrus comes snooping around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or-"he trailed off as he finally spotted us entering the clinic. He lunged forward and grabbed the doctor by the neck, spinning her around so that she was facing us and pointing his pistol at Shepard. "Who are you?" he demanded. We all instantly drew our weapons and had them aimed at the other two men.

"Let her go!" Shepard called. However, before the man had the chance to respond, Garrus popped up from his cover and fired a single round from his own pistol. The doctor yelped as the man's head jerked violently to the side and he collapsed lifelessly to the ground. I heard Shepard mutter a curse under his breath.

"Nice shot," I muttered to myself. An instant later, the doctor was scurrying out of the way as the two other men opened fire with their assault rifles. They tried to take cover behind the pillars in the rear of the clinic, but with six of us and only two of them they didn't last very long.

A well placed shot from the pistol Ashley had given me hit the fire suppressant container in the rear of the room and took out one of the other men. The other was sent reeling backwards, placing him right in the crosshairs of Kaidan's pistol. A couple of shots from him hit the man in the chest and he fell dead to the ground. Ashley began maneuvering around the room, scanning the area with her assault rifle. After a few moments, she dropped her weapon and turned back to the group.

"All clear, Commander." Shepard nodded and we all holstered our weapons. Ashley stood next to me as Garrus and Dr. Michele approached us.

"Excellent timing, Commander." He said to Shepard. "You gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

"What the hell were you thinking, Vakarian?" Shepard growled as he gestured to the doctor. Garrus looked surprised at the Commander's outburst. "You could have hit the hostage!"

"I," Garrus, bewildered, looked from Shepard to the doctor. "I wasn't thinking. I just reacted! Dr. Michele, are you hurt?" the doctor shook her head and brushed her hair behind her ears.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks to all of you."

"Who were those men?" Shepard asked. "What did they want?"

"They work for Fist." There was a low growl from Wrex's direction at the mention of the name. "They wanted to shut me up; keep me from telling Garrus about the Quarian."

"The one I told you about, Shepard." Wrex elaborated. Shepard nodded and turned back to the doctor.

"She must have something linking Saren to the geth." Garrus said as he shifted on his feet. "There's no way the council can ignore this!" he was definitely getting excited.

"Calm down, Garrus." Shepard shook his head. "We don't have anything yet. We need to go find the quarian." He glanced at Wrex. "I think it's time we paid Fist a visit." The krogan grunted his agreement.

"This is your show, Shepard." Garrus started before we had the chance to walk away. "But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do." He stepped forward. "I'm coming with you."

"But you're a turian," Ashley narrowed her eyebrows at him. "Why would you want to bring him down?" Garrus glared at Ashley. He stepped towards her.

"I couldn't find what I needed in my investigation, but I knew what was really going on." He got more and more worked up as he continued to speak. He moved closer to her again. "Saren is a traitor to the council, and a disgrace to my people!" he growled. I stepped between him and Ashley and placed my hand on his chest, moving forward so that he was forced to take several steps back.

"She was just asking a question, buddy. I suggest you calm down." I glared at him.

"Graham," Shepard warned. I looked at him and removed my hand from the turian's chest.

"I'm good, Commander." I assured him before looking back at Garrus and walking backwards until I was standing next to Ashley again. I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn't look at her. Garrus sighed and shook his head.

"I apologize if I offended you." He said to Ashley. "I tend to get a little excited sometimes."

"Alright Garrus," Shepard began before Ashley had the chance to respond. "We could use another hand. Welcome aboard." I glanced at Ashely as they shook hands. She met my gaze, but quickly moved her eyes away.

"Fist is going to be expecting us." Garrus said. "When we hit him, we better hit him hard."

"Don't worry; we have more than enough firepower. Which reminds me," he turned to me. "Graham, I want you to go back to Udina's office. Fill them in on what's happening."

"But sir I," Shepard held up his hand to cut me off.

"Things might get pretty messy when we get to Chora's Den. I don't want to give Dr. Chakwas an excuse to nag me; she does that enough as it is. You're supposed to be taking it easy." I let out an aggravated breath.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Williams," he turned to Ashley. "Go with him, make sure he gets there. Then meet us outside the club." I scoffed, earning a raised eyebrow from Shepard.

"All due respect to both you and the Chief, I don't need a babysitter." I crossed my arms.

"Your actions so far today tell me otherwise." He raised his eyebrow again as I opened my mouth to say something, but I thought better of it. Instead, I spun on my heel and left the clinic, not even bothering to check if Ashley was following me. However, by the time I reached the transportation kiosk outside of the clinic, it was clear that she was. Once I hailed a cab back to the Presidium, I turned to face her. She was glaring at me with her arms folded and her jaw set. I sighed.

"What did I do this time?" I rolled my eyes and mimicked her stance.

"Why do you have to be such an asshole?"

"What are you talking about?" she sighed and shook her head, waving at me dismissively.

"Never mind. Let's just get you to the Ambassador's office so I can get back and shoot something." I continued to look at her for several moments as we waited for the cab to arrive. She pointedly avoided my gaze. When the cab finally arrived, we remained silent as we climbed in and rode to the embassies.

I kept stealing glances at Ashley, but she ignored me. She stared out the window and watched as we flew away from the wards. Once the car finally reached the embassies, she was the first to jump out.

"I think you can make it on your own from here." She said as she began programming a new destination into the kiosk. I walked around the car and stood behind her.

"Ash, please talk to me." She sighed as she turned to face me.

"Lucas, I don't have the time right now. Maybe after we," her voice trailed off as her eyes froze on something behind me. I turned my head to see what she was looking at, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Before I could ask her about it, she pushed past me and walked towards the embassies.

"Ash?" I called after her. She didn't respond, so I followed her. She stopped in front of an Indian man, who was sitting on a bench with his face buried in his hands. As I looked from him back to Ashley and saw the emotion that was forming on her face, realization hit me.

"Mr. Bhatia?" Ashley addressed the man, her voice breaking slightly. She cleared her throat as he looked up at her.

"Yes?" he asked as he stood. Ashley took a deep breath.

"My name is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams." Mr. Bhatia's expression changed as she introduced herself, clearly recognizing the name. "I served in the 212 with your wife, Nirali"

"Yes, I know who you are Chief Williams." He smiled at her. "Nirali spoke of you often, and with great respect."

"I am so sorry for your loss, Mr. Bhatia." Ashley's voice began to break again. "Nirali was a good woman, and a great friend."

"Thank you, Chief Williams." He gave her another small smile.

"Mr. Bhatia," him and Ashley both turned to me. "My name is Private First Class Lucas Graham; I was also in the 212."

"Private Graham, it is a pleasure." He shook my hand.

"Likewise," I returned his smile. I glanced at Ashley, who had her brow raised at me. Her chestnut eyes were glistening with moisture, no doubt tears she was fighting to hold on to. I took a deep breath and turned back to Mr. Bhatia. "Sir, I didn't know Nirali very well to be honest with you; I was fairly new to the unit. But sometimes I would run into her while I was going on a late night run. She would always tell me stories about her childhood, and about the restaurant she wanted to open with you someday. She was one of the kindest people I've ever known. The galaxy is lesser for her loss." I could see his eyes beginning to tear up. He smiled at me again and nodded gratefully.

"Thank you." I returned his smile and nod. I glanced at Ashley again, and this time she smiled back at me despite the wetness in her eyes.

"So Samesh, what brings you to the Citadel? Last I heard you were on Earth." She asked him. He sighed and shook his head, bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I came to request that my wife's body be returned for cremation, but the military has denied my request.

"What? Why did they deny you? There has to be some reason." Ashley shook her head as she spoke.

"I don't know. All I know is that they have declared it impossible for her body to be returned to me."

"That's bullshit." I growled.

"There's no reason they should be holding the body." Ashley agreed. "Maybe we can talk to someone for you."

"I would very much appreciate it if you could try. The man in charge of my case is Mr. Bosker. Last time I saw him, he was in that fancy bar over there." He gestured towards the other side of the corridor, opposite the embassies. I took off in that direction, and I heard Ashley following me. She didn't say anything on the way there. She looked as if she were still trying to control her emotions.

When we got to the bar, it was abuzz with the slightly more wealthy citizens of all races, trying to unwind after a long day of working behind a desk. I looked around, but there was no way to tell which one was the man we were looking for. I cleared my throat.

"Which one of you is Bosker?" I shouted, loud enough for the whole bar to hear me. All the chatter instantly stopped as heads turned in my direction. After a moment of silence, a younger human male that had been leaning against a side wall stepped forward.

"I'm Bosker." He said quietly, almost nervously. I started towards him. "What can I help you with?"

"You can start by telling us why you're holding the bodies of fallen soldiers." Ashley spat as she glared at him and folded her arms.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm somebody that will make your life hell if you don't start talking. There is a grieving husband outside that just wants to bury his wife so he can move on with his life."

"Oh, Mr. Bhatia must have sent you." He shook his head and frowned. "Serviceman Nirali Bhatia died on Eden Prime, as Mr. Bhatia no doubt told you. Her wounds are inconsistent with any type of weapon damage we've seen before. That's why her body is being held."

"I don't give a shit! You have no right to hold her body." I growled. Mr. Bosker looked from Ashley to me.

"The tests we are conducting may lead to better defenses against geth attacks. Respectfully, Serviceman Bhatia may save more lives in death than she did in life." I glanced at Ashley. She was seething at him, her eyes throwing daggers. She was clearly affected by his words, as her eyes began to moisten again.

I shifted my gaze between them for a moment before settling them back on Bosker. My heart began to pound and my mouth began to dry. I cracked my neck to the side before lunging forward and grabbing the stunned man by collar of his shirt and slamming him against the wall he had been leaning on.

"Listen to me, and listen close." I hissed. "You don't know me, so I'll tell you what I'm going to do. Either you release Serviceman Bhatia's body to her husband, or I will kill you, find her, and take her to him myself."

"T-There's no need for threats, sir." He stuttered, his wide eyes pleading with me. "Even if her body were here on the Citadel, would you really risk going in shooting to get it?" I responded by pulling out Ashley's pistol and driving it into the skin under his chin.

"Let's find out." I whispered.

"Okay, okay, you win!" he pleaded. "We'll ship the body back to Earth. I- I'll leave now to see to it myself."

"Smart man." I finally released him, and he nearly tripped over himself as he ran out of the bar. Once he was gone, I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breathing and stop my heart from racing. When I opened my eyes again, Ashley was gaping at me, her eyes filled with worry.

"There was probably a better way to handle that." She said softly. She glanced down at the pistol that I was still holding in my trembling hand, and reached for it. I didn't fight her as she took it from me. I couldn't meet her gaze as she holstered it.

"I," a cough cut me off; my throat had suddenly become very dry. I swallowed several times to be able to speak again. "I know. We should probably go tell Mr. Bhatia about Nirali."

"Yeah, we should." She continued to look at me for another moment before turning and walking out of the bar. I took another deep, shaky breath as I looked around the room. Every eye in the bar was on me, expressions varying from terror to amusement. I rolled my shoulders and walked off after Ashley. When we got back to the ground level, Mr. Bhatia was waiting for us.

"What happened?" he asked when we approached. "I just saw Mr. Bosker run out of there like a maniac." Ashley glanced at me before answering him.

"We handled it." She replied.

"Your wife is coming home, Mr. Bhatia." I added, smiling at him despite the uneasiness I still felt. He closed his eyes and let out a breath he'd probably been holding since we left. "Thank you." He said softly as he opened his eyes again. "Now I must go home and begin the preparations. It does not bring me happiness, but perhaps now I will have peace."

"Samesh?" Ashley stopped him before he walked away. He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. She took a deep breath. "I don't know if this helps, but Nirali loved you very much." This time, a tear did escape down her cheek as her voice broke. "She missed your cooking, and she played recordings of you every night before she went to sleep." She sniffled as she finished speaking. Samesh smiled at her.

"I know, Miss. Williams. But thank you, it is nice to hear it again." He seemed to ponder something for a few moments, before he stepped towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know how you must feel, Chief Williams. You and Nirali were close. And I know you were close with everyone in your unit, especially your squad." A steady flow of tears had begun to run down her cheeks.

"I want you to listen to me, Ashley." The use of her first name must have surprised her, because her head shot up and her eyes met his. "I do not blame you for Nirali's death. I am glad you survived.' He glanced quickly at me. "I'm glad both of you survived. What happened on Eden Prime was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done to save all those people." Ashley gaped at him, her expression completely bewildered.

"I know how you think, Ashley. Nirali told me much about you. I know you have been beating yourself up since the attack and blaming yourself, but you need to stop. Their deaths were not your fault. You are a hero, Chief Williams. Don't let anyone ever tell you different." He stepped away from her and turned to me. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Graham." With that, he turned and walked away.

I looked back at Ashley, who was staring at the spot where Samesh had been standing, her eyes still wide and her lips parted. She was almost completely still, except for the slight movement from her rapid breathing. I moved closer to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She didn't respond at first, but as I slowly began to rub her back, she looked at me. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, and the pain was evident in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly. She closed her eyes and took a long, shaky breath. She nodded as she opened her eyes, and wiped away the tears with the backs of her hands. "He was right, wasn't he?" her eyes met mine again. I ceased rubbing her back and brought my hand up to grip her shoulder. "You blame yourself for what happened." She looked away and licked her lips.

"The dog squad was my responsibility." She said in a quiet, hoarse voice. "And I got them killed." I stepped in front of her and cupped her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me.

"Ashley Madeline Williams," I began, her eyes widened at the use of her full name and her mouth hung agape. "Listen to me. I don't care that you are my superior officer right now, because you need to hear this. You did _not_ get them killed. Saren and the geth did. You are _not_ responsible for what happened. Saren is. Stop kicking yourself in the ass, because you do not deserve it. You are a goddamn hero, just like Samesh said. Do you understand me?" she blinked several times before she nodded slowly. I used my thumbs to wipe away the remaining tears on her cheeks and released her. "Good. Now, don't you have to go shoot something?" I smiled at her. She laughed and sniffled one last time.

"Yeah, the Commander is probably wondering where I am." She turned to leave, but then stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Hey Lucas?" I raised a brow at her. "Thank you." I flashed her a smile.

"Anytime, Chief." She returned my smile, then turned and walked towards the car that was still waiting to take her back down to the wards. I watched as the car rose into the air and took off, and then I made my way towards Ambassador Udina's office.


	9. Chapter 9

"So what exactly are we waiting for, Commander?" Garrus shifted on his feet, eyeing the entrance to Chora's Den anxiously. Wrex grunted in agreement, wiping off his shotgun for the hundredth time since they'd been standing there.

"We're waiting for Chief Williams to get here." Kaidan answered for Shepard, who was looking towards the alley with his arms folded across his chest, tapping his fingers on his arm impatiently.

"What the fuck is taking her so long?" Shepard growled as he huffed and pushed away from the railing he'd been leaning on. "She should have been here by now."

"Maybe she got lost." Wrex chuckled. "I hear the Presidium is a pretty big place." Shepard shook his head and was about to respond when Ashley rounded the corner.

"Hey Commander, sorry it took so long." She stopped in front of Shepard, wiping away the sweat that had begun to gather on her forehead. "Graham and I ran into a little problem that we had to deal with."

"You can tell me about it later." Shepard pulled his Avenger from the holster on his back and turned to face the club's entrance. "Now if you're all squared away Chief, we have a quarian to find." Ashley nodded and pulled out her own Avenger. "Wrex, you take point since I can assume you'll just end up charging at them anyway." Wrex grunted in acknowledgement as he readied his shotgun and moved forward. "Garrus, fall back behind me and Williams and use your sniper rifle. Pick off the ones that we miss."

"You got it, Shepard." Garrus pulled his rifle from his back and moved into position behind Shepard and Ashley, who readied their Avengers as they followed Wrex towards the club.

There was only a split second of hesitation before they were being fired upon. The club was empty of its usual patronage, now only occupied by Fist's men. Wrex let out a throaty roar before charging at the first person he came across. Ashley and Shepard took turns firing in alternate directions with their Avengers, and Garrus picked off a couple of guards that were positioned on the stage above them. All in all, the five of them made quick work of the resistance.

"Fist is this way." Wrex breathed as he marched towards the back of the club. The others followed him into a corridor, where two more men were waiting for them. Upon hearing the door open, the two men spun around and leveled their pistols at the group.

"Really?" Shepard didn't even bother to raise his Avenger. "Two on five, you like those odds?" Shepard smirked when he noticed the men trade a sideways glance.

"All the real guards must be dead." Garrus deadpanned as he looked at their uniforms. Shepard couldn't help but agree. The two men in front of him now were all but shaking in their boots, and their eyes were darting between the five of them.

"I'm giving you one chance to walk out of here." Shepard stated, an eyebrow raised at the way the men shifted nervously on their feet. He sighed. "Look how many people we just killed to get here. What do you think we're going to do to you?" This seemed to finally get their attention, as the darker skinned guard on the right dropped his weapon and nudged the other.

"Screw this, man. Fist doesn't pay us enough for this shit." The other guard was quick to agree as he dropped his weapon, and both men made their way out the door. Shepard heard a scoff behind him.

"I'm can't believe that worked." Garrus mused.

"Shooting people isn't always the answer." Shepard turned to meet Ashley's gaze as she spoke, and she smiled up at him. He winked and flashed her a smirk before turning to the door in front of them.

"Alright, Fist should be in here. Everyone hold fire unless I give the word; we don't know if the quarian is with him." After a series of nods and affirmations from his squad, Shepard palmed the door open and stepped inside, his Avenger at the ready. He had just barely made it past the edge of the wall when a bullet impacted his shields and he was forced back into cover. He cursed under his breath as he allowed his shields to regenerate.

"Why do I have to do everything myself?" he heard a gruff male voice call as more shots were fired in his direction. No doubt the voice, and the bullets, belonged to Fist. "Time to die, little soldiers!" There was a whir of machinery, followed by a sudden outburst of a lot more weapons fire.

"He's got turrets!" Shepard called over the noise. When there was a lull in the fire, he took the opportunity to peek around the corner. He spotted Fist and two defense turrets, but there was no sign of the quarian. He ducked back into the wall as the turrets began firing again. "Okay, I don't see the quarian. You're all free to engage the turrets, but keep Fist alive for now!"

There was an explosion of gunfire as the crew unleashed their counter attack on Fist's turrets, and the two machines were quickly disabled. Shepard rounded the corner, using Fist's surprise to his advantage, and brought the butt of his Avenger down hard against the man's skull. Fist yelped and collapsed to the ground, one hand covering the newly formed gash above his eye while the other was raised towards Shepard in a defensive manner.

"Wait! Don't kill me, I surrender!" Fist pleaded. Shepard had to resist the urge to laugh at how pathetic the man sounded. If he was a betting man, he'd have put a hundred credits down that Fist was wetting himself. At least, he would be by the time they were through. Shepard traded his Avenger for his pistol and leveled it at the begging man.

"Smart man. Now, tell me where the quarian is and I won't have to shoot out your fucking kneecaps." Shepard growled, pulling the action back on his pistol. Fist sputtered.

"S-she's not here. I don't know where she is, that's the truth!"

"He's lying." Ashley sighed, sounding completely nonchalant about the whole situation. Shepard hummed thoughtfully.

"You want to play games, Fist? Fine." He turned to look at Ashley, who raised a questioning brow at him. "Put a round in his leg. See if that gets him talking."

"Aye, aye sir." Ashley responded before raising her Avenger.

"Wait! Wait!" Fist pleaded again, sitting up a little straighter. His right eye was closed from the blood that was leaking into it from where Shepard's gun had impacted his face. "I don't know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her." Shepard's brow furrowed.

"So… you don't know where she is, but… you know where she is?" Fist ignored him and shook his head.

"She isn't here. She said she would only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."

"That's impossible." Garrus chimed in. "The Shadow Broker only works through agents." Fist slowly rose to his feet, and all guns were suddenly locked on him, save for Shepard's.

"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting up." He sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her." Shepard's eyes widened, and he lunged forward, grabbing Fist by the neck of his armor and shoving his pistol in his face.

"Tell me where the meeting is before I blow your fucking head off!" Shepard growled.

"H-here on the wards, in the back alley by the markets. She… she's supposed to be meeting them right now. You can catch them if you hurry." This time, Shepard did chuckle. It was a dark, menacing sound, and he felt Fist shiver under his hold.

"And what about you, Fist? Am I just supposed to forget about your part in all this?"

"Hey, I came clean! I told you about the meeting! Plus, I have my own problems now." He shook his head. "The Shadow Broker wants me dead. I have to disappear. Forget about me, I'm a ghost!" Shepard shook his head and clicked his tongue as he released Fist.

"Too many people died here, Fist. You don't get to just walk away." Shepard turned around and locked eyes with Wrex. "It's your bounty. You deal with him." Wrex flashed him a toothy grin before stepping past him and raising his shotgun. There was a sharp yelp followed by a definitive _bang,_ and Shepard strode forwards and back out into the club.

"That was awfully messy, Commander." Ashley said as she fell into step beside him. "Was it really necessary to kill him?" Shepard sighed and glanced towards Ashley from his peripheral.

"Chief, you know as well as I do what Fist was capable of. He was a threat that needed to be neutralized. Plus," he chuckled again. "do you really think Wrex was just going to walk out of there with Fist alive? I don't."

"If you say so, sir." Ashley breathed, defeated.

"Good, you're learning." Shepard smacked her on the shoulder before raising his voice so the others could hear. "Alright, let's double-time it guys. We've got a quarian to save." With that, he picked up his pace into a quick jog, the others following closely behind him.

It wasn't long before the squad made it to their destination. By the time they arrived in the alley, it seemed the meeting was already underway. Though the dim red overhead lighting made visibility slightly more difficult, Shepard could still make out the quarian. She was standing in front of a turian male, and he was getting a little too friendly. Shepard could also see the two armored salarians standing not too far away, near a cargo container.

Shepard was just about to intervene when the quarian suddenly lobbed a grenade at the two salarians before diving into cover behind a crate.

"Shit, engage!" Shepard ordered, pulling out his Avenger. "But watch your fire, don't hit the quarian!" he opened fire on the turian, dispatching of him easily after a few burst rounds. The salarians were also quickly disposed of; one after a well-placed shot from Garrus' sniper rifle and the other rather grotesquely after a biotic charge from Wrex that left him splattered against the alley wall. The fighting was over before the quarian even peeked out from behind her cover. Once she did, she rose to stand fully and face Shepard, who had stowed his Avenger and approached the crate.

"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him." The quarian spat bitterly. Shepard took a step towards her, giving her armor a once-over.

"Are you alright? Were you hurt?" he asked when he found nothing.

"I know how to look after myself." The quarian replied, her voice defensive. "Not that I don't appreciate the help. Who are you, exactly?"

"Don't worry, we're friends. I'm Shepard. With me are Ashley, Kaidan, Garrus, and Wrex." Shepard introduced, gesturing to each squad mate respectively. "We're looking for evidence that proves Saren is a traitor to the council." The quarian seemed to perk up at this.

"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here…" she glanced nervously around the alley, her gaze halting momentarily on the body of the turian. "We should go somewhere safe."

"Commander, we should take her back to the embassy." Kaidan suggested. "Ambassador Udina will want to hear about this anyway."

"Good idea. Alright gang, let's move out." Shepard led the group back towards the Presidium, the quarian following closely beside him.

* * *

 **AN: Yes, I know, I suck because it's been a long ass time since I've updated. But, you know, life, and shit happens, so... Anyway, I know this chapter is kinda short, but I was just in a hurry to get something posted after so long. Also, I know it's not the greatest, but action scenes aren't really my thing, so... I'll work on it. Promise!**

 **I'm not really sure when I'll update next, but I promise I'm going to try and get it up soon. Maybe in the next couple weeks or so. I've just been hella busy lately, and haven't had a lot of time to write. But I'm going to try and get it out as soon as possible.**

 **Thank you to everybody who's still around after this long ass wait! And please, leave me your thoughts about this chapter or the story in general. If you don't want to leave a review, feel free to PM me.**

 **See ya'll next time ^_^**


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